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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


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D 
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D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  maps/ 

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D 
D 
D 
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Showthrough/ 
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Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  r6duction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 


10X 

^Ulll 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

___ 

30X 

|i__ 

~ 

^ 

_ 

^— ^ 

17X 

ha^MM 

16X 

20X 

24x 

28X 

32X 

L 


ire 

details 
jes  du 
modifier 
]er  une 
filmage 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
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g6n6rosit6  de: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

Las  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nattetd  de  l'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


/ 
j6es 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


aire 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  <— ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim^e  sont  film^s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commenqant  par  la 
pramidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  teile 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  "-^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
da  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcassaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  ia  m^thode. 


by  errata 
ned  to 

lent 

une  pelure, 

faqon  d 


o 


32X 


i 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

I 


A 


W 


POLYSYNTHESIS    IN    THK    LANGUAGES   OF 
THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS 


BY 


.; 


jf  Ni^RT' HEWITT 


(From  The  Ai.ierican  Anthropologist,  October,  1393) 


WASHINGTON,    D.  C. 
JUDD  &  DKTWKII.ER,    PRINTBRS 
1893 


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0 


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■liii.,  ■■<>■ 


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/inTHHUPOtOGiCAL  ^JOCltTV 
OF  WASHINGTON.  U.uJ 


[Trom  Thu  American  Anthropologist  i'or  Octoukr,  1893.] 


i 


POLYSYNTHESIB  IN  THE  LANOUAOES  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

r.Y   J.    N.    n.    HEWITT. 

In  tlic  early  part  of  this  century  I'eter  S.  Duponreaii  annoiiiiced 
his  conviction,  obtained  from  a  cursory  study  of  tiie  scanty  and 
imperfect  linguistic  material  accessible  to  him,  that  the  grammatic 
phenomena  of  the  known  tongues  of  the  American  Indians  arc 
characterized  by  a  common  ground  plan,  or,  adopting  a  i)hrase  of 
Maupertuis,  a  "plan  of  ideas."  This  plan  he  called  polysynthetic 
or  syntactic,  and  defined  it  as  follows: 

"A  polysynthetic  or  syntactic  construction  of  language  is  that  in  which 
the  greatest  number  of  ideas  are  comprised  in  the  least  number  of  words. 
This  is  done  principally  in  two  ways.  i.  By  a  mode  of  compounding 
locutions  which  is  not  confined  to  joining  two  words  together,  as  in 
Greek,  or  varying  the  inflection  or  termination  of  a  radical  word,  as  in 
most  European  languages,  but  by  interweaving  together  the  most  signifi- 
cant sounds  or  syllables  of  each  simple  word,  so  as  to  form  a  compound 
that  will  awaken  in  the  mind  at  once  all  the  ideas  singly  expressed  by  the 
words  from  which  they  are  taken.  2.  Ry  an  analogous  combination  [of] 
the  various  parts  of  speech,  particularly  by  means  of  the  verb,  so  that  its 
various  forms  and  inflections  will  express  not  only  the  jirincipal  action, 
but  the  greatest  possible  number  of  the  moral  ideas  and  physical  objects 
connected  with  it,  and  will  combine  itself  to  the  greatest  extent  with 
those  conceptions  which  are  the  subject  of  other  parts  of  speech,  and  in 
other  languages  require  to  be  expressed  by  separate  and  distinct  words. 
Such  I  take  to  be  the  general  character  of  the  Indian  languages."  * 

He  elsewhere  says : 

"  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  these  forms  are  peculiar  to  this  part  of 
the  world,  and  that  they  do  not  exist  in  the  languages  of  the  old 
world."  t 

In  an  essay,  which  won,  in  1833,  the  Volney  prize  of  the  Insti- 
tute of  France,  he  says  : 

"A  I'aide  d'iuflexions,  conime  dans  les  langues  grecque  et  latine,  de 
particules,  affixes  et  suffixes,  comme  dans  le  copte,  I'hdbreu  et  les  lan- 
gues dites  sdmitiques,  de  la  jonction  de  particules  significatives,  comme 

•Transactions  of  the  Historical  and  Literary  Committee  of  the  American   Philo- 
sophical Society,  held  at  Philadelphia,  for  promoting  useful  knowledge,  vol.  i,  p.  xxx. 
tLoc.  cit.,  p.  370. 


882 


TIIK    A.Mi:i!I('A\    ANTIIK<)l'()l,()(iIST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


O 


dans  le  chiiiois,  ct  cnfiu  dc  syllabcs  ct  souveiit  dc  simples  Icttrcs  iiitcr- 
cal^es  i\  I'dTL't  de  rdveiller  une  id<je  de  Tcxpressiou  de  huiiiLlle  c-ette 
k'ltre  fait  partie,  :\  qiioi  il  faiit  ajouter  I'ellipse,  ([iii  fait  soiisentendre,  Ics 
Indieiis  dc  rAnit-riquc  sout  parvenus  ;\  former  des  lanj,'iies  (jui  comjjrcu- 
neiit  le  plus  graml  nomhre  d'idees  dans  Ic  plus  petit  nombre  dt,  mots 
possible.  Au  moyen  de  ces  proi-e<k's  ils  peuveiit  chanjjer  la  nature  de 
toutes  les  parties  du  discours  ;  du  verbe,  faire  un  adverbe  on  \u\  nom  ;  de 
I'adjective  ou  du  substantif,  un  verbe;  enfin,  tons  les  nuteurs  qui  out 
(■crit  sur  ces  lan^ucs  avec  conuaissance  de  cause,  depuis  le  nord  jusqu'au 
snd,  adiruient  que,  dans  ces  idiomes  sauva^cs,  on  pent  former  des  mots  a 
I'inlini."* 

If  a  general  principle  of  the  kind  here  described  could  be  estab- 
lished it  would  be  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  students  of  com- 
parative grammar.  This,  however,  can  be  done  only  by  a  careful 
and  thorough  analysis  by  the  modern  methods  of  linguistics  of  every 
language  concerned,  an  analysis  wliich  has  not  yet  been  made. 
For  such  an  analysis  trustworthy  and  sufficient  data  must  also  be  at 
hand. 

The  lexic  and  syntactic  material  relating  to  these  languages  is,  in 
some  instances,  quite  extensive,  consisting  mostly  of  short  vocabu- 
laries, translations  of  the  Holy  Scriptmes  or  portions  thereof,  and 
more  or  less  pretentious  lexicons  and  grammars ;  but,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparative  or  other  study,  these  are  so  faulty  and  mislead- 
ing and  so  warped  by  erroneous  theories  and  misapprehensions  tliat 
they  are  of  small  value  and  of  precarious  utility  in  morphologic 
study.  The  learned  Father  Cuoq,  equally  well-versed  in  Iroquoian 
and  Algonquian  speech,  says  : 

"Que  penser  de  certaines  traductions  des  Stes.  :ficritures?  Ceux  qui 
out  taut  soit  pen  dtudid  les  differeutes  portions  de  la  Hible  traduites  dans 
les  langues  indicinies  de  I'Amdrique  par  les  soins  de  certaines  Socutcs 
Bibligues,  en  trouveiit  la  traduction— il  m'est  pdnible  de  le  dire— vrai- 
ment  pito3'able.  Ce  n'est  rien  nioins  qu'une  profanation  de  la  parole  dc 
Dieu  ;  et  je  suis  assurd  pour  ma  part  que  les  menibres  eux-iiienies  de  ces 
societds  seraieut  les  premiers  h  repudier  leurs  i)auvres  publications  et  k 
les  condamner  aux  flammes,  s'ils  conuaissaieut  les  in  corrections,  les  in- 
exactitudes, les  solccismes,  les  barbarismes,  et  les  contrc-sens  dout  elles 
fourniilleiit."  f 

Duponceau  had  no  ready  means  of  testing  the  work  of  his  chief 
authorities,  and  so  was  compelled  to  accept  their  unsupported  state- 


O 


*  M^Miioire  sur  le  systdme  grammatical  des  langues  de  quelques  nations  indiennes  de 
I'Amcrique  du  uord.    Paris,  1838,  p.  89. 
t "  Jugement  errou(S  de  M.  :ernest  Renan  sur  les  langues  sauvages,"  p.  105. 


•  n4  .XJJ ■■ 


■Mka 


1ST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


dimples  Icttrcs  inter- 
on  (Ic  liuiiiclle  c-ctte 
fait  soiisenleiKlrc,  Ics 
iiiij^ues  ((iii  coini)rcn- 
L'tit  noiiihrc  dt  mots 
chaiijjer  l;i  nature  de 
.•erbe  ou  lui  noin  ;  de 
les  nilteiirs  qui  out 
puis  le  lionl  jusqu'au 
;ut  former  des  mots  d 

l)cd  could  bo  cstab- 
lio  students  of  com- 
e  only  by  a  careful 
linguistics  of  every 
i)t  yet  been  made, 
lata  must  also  be  at 

lese  languages  is,  in 
ly  of  sliort  vocabu- 
rtions  thereof,  and 
s ;  but,  for  the  pur- 
faulty  and  mislead- 
sajjprehensions  tliat 
ty  in  nior[)hologic 
versed  in  Iroquoian 

icritures?     Ceux  qui 

1  nible  tradnites  dans 
de  ccrlaines  Socictcs 
il)le  de  le  dire — vrai- 
ation  de  la  parole  de 
es  eux-memes  de  ces 
res  publications  et  eX 
incorrections,  les  in- 
ontrc-seus  dout  elles 

2  work  of  his  chief 
unsui)ported  state- 

iies  nations  iiuliemies  de 
uvages,"  p.  105, 


Oct.  iSyj.J        I'OI.VSYNTIIKSIS  IN  INDIAN   l-ANdlAUKS.  OiSli 

nients  and  deductions.  He  drew  his  information  of  the  Irocpioian 
language  from  the  works  of  /eisl)ergcr  and  I'yrlacus,  chielly  those 
of  the  former.  A  careful  and  unbiased  examination  of  Zeisberger's 
work  sliows  tiiat  tlie  wurtliy  missionary  had  at  b(;sl  only  a  super- 
ficial and  precarious  knowledge  of  that  language,  for  he  lacked  the 
very  elementary  acipiainlance  with  it  which  would  have  enabled  hini 
invariably  to  dislinguisii  its  words  from  their  derivatives  and  from 
its  sentences  and  phrases. 

'I'iie  method  of  inllections,  which  is  common   to  European  and 
other  tongues,  need  not  tletain  us;  the  method  of  intercalation  or 
interweaving  vocal  elements  claimed  to  be  peculiarly  characteristic 
of  tlie  poiysynthetic  scheme  demands  some  consideration.     Had  it 
a  substantial  basis  of  fact  it  would   indeed  serve  to  mark  off  from 
all  otiiers  those  languages  in  which  it  was  found  t(j  ])revail.     The 
use  of  a  process  so  singular  and  abnormal   in  its  oijcralion  can  be 
established  only  by  the  evidence  of  unecpiivocal  facts      'I'lie  data 
adduced  as  proof  that  such  a  method  of  combining  vocal  elements 
is  one  of  the  most  characteristic  traits  of  all  known  Indian  tongues 
are  of  the  most  <piestionai)le  character.     This  process  is  not  a  part 
of  Irocpioian  grammar,  nor  lias  a  satislactory  example  of  it  been 
cited  from   Aigoncpiian  speech,  and    Rev.   J.  Owen   Dorsey  stales 
that  it  does  not  find  a  place  in  the  Siouan  grammatic  processes  ; 
hence  it  follows  that  the  languages  of  these  three  great  stocks  are 
not  poiysynthetic  within  the  meaning  of  this  term  as  used  by  Du- 
ponceau,  because  they  do  not  use  the  so-called  "artificial  elements" 
nor  the  alleged  process  of  "  interweaving  together"  or  "  intercala- 
tion" of  vocables,  which  alone  constitute  the  characteristic  traits 
of  the  supposed  "  poiysynthetic  construction."     This  raises  the  pre- 
sumption that  carefid  study  will  show  that  other  less-known  Indian 
tongues,  which,  like  the  three  named  above,  have  been  classed  as 
p(jlysynthetic  by  Dui)onceau  and  his  disciples,  are  not  founded  on 
that  theoretic  plan  ;  because  wherever  the  syntactic  and  morphologic 
processes  have  been  ascertained  from  accurate  and  sufficient  data  they 
have  been  found  at  variance  with  the  poiysynthetic  processes,  and 
thev  likewise  differ  greatly  among  themselves  in  their  ground  plans. 
It  lias,  in  fact,  been  found  that  those  Indian  languages  whose  le.xic 
and  .syntactic  phenomena  have  been  thoroughly  analyzed  have  not, 
as  Duponceau  maintained,  a  peculiar  construction  of  language,  in 
which   "the  greatest  number  of  ideas  are  c(miprised  in  the  least 
number  of  words,"  which  is  the  motive  or  object  of  his  conjectured 
ground  plan  or  "  plan  of  ideas." 


© 


^W^ 


OHl 


TIIK    AMi:itl(AN    A.NTllltOl'Ul.OdlST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


Diiponrcan  further  says: 

"  I.i's  Iiulicns,  surtout  ccux  qui  sont  chasseurs  ct  nomadcs,  u'unt  pus 
urn-  li'le  hieii  aii.ilytique.  lis  se  sont  biLMiL.'u  einl)r(>uill<:-s  dans  la  forma- 
tion <k-  linirs  mots  :  reci'vanl  kurs  i.lijes  en  troupes,  aiiisi  ((ue  la  nature 
nous  les  prcsente,  ils  onl  voulu  les  exprinicr  il  la  fois  avec  toules  leurs 
parties,  tcllcs  qu'lls  les  ai)ercevaient.''-  Ont-ils  voulu,  pir  exemplc, 
(loiiucr  uii  noni  a  uii  certain  arhre,  ils  n'ont  pas  pense  i\  le  d^-sijjner  sim- 
I)lenieiil  par  le  IVuil,  on  par  (jueliiue  autre  apjuireuee  unicpie  ;  niais  ils 
onl  ait:  I'arbre  portaiil  tcl /mil  ct  dont  les  fcnillcs  irssfinblciil  u  telle 
chose,  et  ils  out  elierche  :\  exprinier  tout  eela  par  uii  seul  mot.  Mais 
conmHul  faire  ?  vS'ils  joiniiaient  tons  ces  mots  ensemble,  ils  en  auraient 
un  nouveau  d'uue  longueur  enorine  ;  et  puis,  leur  nouvelle  lant,nic,  abon- 
daut  en  consonncs,  u'ctait  pas  hcureusemcnt  formee  pour  une  pareiHe 
jonetion.  Mors  ils  ont  pris  qnelque  chose  de  chaque  mot,  et  par  la 
r(5unlou  el  I'inlercalalion  des  syllables,  et  meme  de  sons  simples  tirds  de 
la  phrase  (pi'ils  avaient  choisie,  ou  plulot  des  mots  incolierens  qui  la 
liresentaient  rl  leur  esprit,  ils  ont  iorm^  un  nom  propre  compose  de  ces 
(IKTerentes  parties  d'idees  ;  et  pour  celles  qu'ils  n'ont  pu  y  faire  entrer, 
lellipse  est  venue  il  leur  secours.  *  ■•■  *  Ce  qui  nous  parait  le  plus 
probable,  est  ([ue  les  langnes,  comnie  le  monde,  ont  commence-  par  le 
chaos,  et  out  acquis  de  la  r(?},'ularit(J  plus  tot  ou  plus  tard,  sous  une  forme 
ou  une  autre,  selou  le  jjfdnie  des  peuples,  leurs  situations  ou  leurs  besoins. 
Celles  (les  ludieiis  de  rAuiericjue  du  nord  ont  retenu  beaucoup  de  ce 
genre  chaoti(iue  (jui  a  du  presider  il  leur  formation.  I^es  parties  du  dis- 
cours  y  sont  entremOlees  d'une  maniere  qui  fait  croire  qu'elles  n'ont  pas 
toiijours  dtd  soumiscs  aux  rb^Xufi  qui  les  jjouverneut  actuellement  et  qui, 
introduites  pen  a  pen,  n'ont  pu  que  ino<lirier,  sans  le  detruire,  le  systime 
de  fonualion  des  mots  qui  parait  avoir  prevalu  des  le  commencement. 

"Ce  systeme  polysynthdtique  est  ce  qui  caractt-rise  les  langues  algon- 
(juiues,  aiusi  (lue  toutes  celles  de  I'Aiuerique,  et  iuflue  udcessairemeut 
sur  leurs  formes  grammaticales,  qui  ne  different  que  dans  les  ddtails." 

To  this  he  adds  the  following  foot-note: 

"  La  plus  forte  jjreuve  qu'ou  puisse  donner  du  melange  d'iddes  qui  a 
exisld  au  temps  de  la  formation  de  ces  langues,  e.st  le  nombre  de  mots 
(|u'elles  ont  pour  exprinier  la  meme  chose,  selou  les  circonstances  qui 
l'accnmpai,'uent.  II  y  a  un  verbe  pour  dire  '  j'ai  euvie  de  manger  de  la 
viandc,'  et  nn  autre  pour  'j'ai  envie  de  manger  de  la  soupe  ou  de  la 
bouillie;'  un  mot,  pour  une  plaie  faile  avec  uu  instrumeut  tranchaut ; 
uu  autre,  pour  une  plaie  faite  avec  uu  instrument  coutoudant ;  ces  lan- 
gues gdudralisent  raremeut."  t 

In  support  of  these  striking  statements  Duponceau  has  produced 
no  trustworthy  proofs.     He  has  adduced  only  the  most   fanciful 

♦This  is  in  substance  the  doctrine  of  holoplnasis,  to  which  attention  wiU  he  given 
hereafter. 
fMCmoire,  pp.  Ii8-i20. 


>OIMT. 


[Vol.  VI. 


■i  nomacli's,  u'otit  pim 
•ouillds  dans  la  foriiia- 
L'S,  aiiisi  ((UL'  111  iialure 
fois  avcc  tonics  linirs 
vouUi,  pir  excMiiiilc, 
2\\iiC  i\  Ic  (li^'signer  sim- 
ciu-c  uiiiciue  ;  iiiais  ils 
//(W  irssfinblent  u  Idle 
ir  nil  seul  mot.  Mais 
icmble,  ils  en  auraient 
iiouvelle  laii^uc,  ahoti- 
uce  pour  line  parcille 
jluique  mot,  et  par  la 
e  sous  simples  tirds  de 
ots  iucoliciens  qui  la 
propre  compose  de  ces 
'out  pu  y  faire  entrer, 
[ui  nous  parait  le  plus 
out  comniencd  par  le 
IS  tard,  sous  unc  forme 
itions  ou  leiirs  hesoius. 
letenu  heaucoup  de  ce 
II.  Ia'S  parties  du  dis- 
-oire  qu'elles  n'ont  pas 
lit  actuellement  et  qui, 
le  detruire,  le  syst^me 
s  le  commencement, 
rise  les  langues  algon- 
influe  udcessairement 
ue  dans  les  ddtails." 


melange  d'iddes  qui  a 
est  le  nombre  de  mots 
1  les  circonstances  qui 

envie  de  manger  de  la 
r  de  la  soupe  ou  de  la 
inslrument  tranchant ; 
t  contondant ;  ces  lau- 

)onceau  has  produced 
ily  the  most   fanciful 

lich  ■^UentioIl  will  lie  given 


.1S.^> 


Oct.  1893.1        l'()I,YSYNTni:slS  IN   IN1>IAN   I,A  Ndl' AdKS. 

reasons  t..  supp-rt  his  roMvi<:ti<m  that  tlie  In.liiiM  languages  slill 
preserve  the  "cliaotic  style"  which  «  seems  to  have  i.revailed  from 
the  beginning."  'Die  intermixture  of  the  parts  of  speech  docs  not 
follow  from  the  fact  that  a  iangu.ige  can  in  a  word-sentence  say, 
<'  I  desire  meat,"  or  "  I  desire  soui),"  and  can  distinguish  between 
a  "  cut "  and  a  "  bruise."  Such  word-sentences  arc  governed  by 
certain  fixed  laws  of  position  and  se<iuence  of  stems. 

Tiie  usual  method  of  obtaining  a  vocalnilary  from  an  unlettered 
peoi.le  is  largely  responsible  for  tl>e  doctrine  that  Indians  rarely 
generalize.  A  savage  is  asked,  Mow  do  you  say  "  I  cat  meat,  or 
«' I  drink  soui)?"  and,  if  he  understands  the  question,  he  replies 
by  llie  appropriate  sentences  (not  words,  as  many  tliiivk),  meaning, 
in  his  own  vernacular,  "  I  eat  meat,"  or  "  I  drink  soup."  He  can 
distinguish  between  a  cut  and  a  bruise,  and  shows  it  by  his  laug.-age, 
but  must  it  be  inferred  from  this  that  he  cannot  generalize,  or  tliat 

he  does  it  but  rarely? 

Tlie  materials  of  the  language  of  the  Iroquois  consist  of  notional 
words,  namely,  nouns,  verbs,  and  adjectives  ;  representative  words, 
namely,  prefixive  and  independent  pronouns  ;  relational  words, 
adverbs,  conjunctions,  and  suffixive  prepositions;  and  derivative 
elements,  namely,  formatives  and  flexions. 

The  distinctive  nature  and  cliaracteristic  functions  of  these  ele- 
ments cannot  be  changed  at  will  by  any  speaker,  for  the  good  and 
sufficient  reason  tliat  a  language  does  and  can  do  only  what  it  is  in 
the  liabit  of  doing.     In  the  category  of  notional  words,  the  class  of 
elements  called  noun -stems  may  not  indifferently  assume  the  func- 
tions and  the  flexions  peculiar  to  either  the  verb-stems  or  the  ad- 
jective-stems, neither  can  the  verb-stems  nor  the  adjective-stems 
indifferently  assume  the  functions  and  the  flexions  peculiar  to  either 
of  the  other  two  classes  of  elements  in  that  category  ;  hence  Du- 
ponceau's  sweeping  statement  concerning  the  general  character  of 
the  American  Indian  languages,  that  -  they  can  change  the  nature 
of  all  parts  of  speech  ;  of  the  verb,  make  an  adverb  or  a  noun  ;  of 
the  adjective  or  substantive,  a  verb,"  is  not  true  of  the  Iroquoian 
ton-rue      The  elements  of  its  lexicon  have  acquired  their  individual 
values  by  virtue  of  a  series  of  historical  changes,  and  they  severally 
retain  these  values  solely  at  the  behest  of  conventional  usage,  being 
subject  at  all  times  to  further  mutations  of  form  and  signification  as 

this  usage  may  decree. 

The  stems  of  words  and  word-sentences  are  not  divided  for  any 

50 


l\* 


nso 


TIIR    AMKBTCAN    A  NTH  lioroi.oiilST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


purpose  wIiatevLT.  Tlic  rompomul  stems  of  word-seiUciices  in:iy, 
by  liistorical  (  hanges,  Ik-coiiu!  parts  of  si)ee(;h — notional  terms — 
denotive  of  tlie  lliin(,'S  descrilnd  l)y  llic  \vordscnten<es  from  wliidi 
tliey  are  derived,  and  tliey  (an  be  so  considered  only  wluii  tlu-  lin- 
guistic sense  has  come  to  disregard  the  separate  meanings  of  the 
elements  thus  com!)ined.  Tiiis  h  /<,viisv/i//i<-.u's:^'  A  prolific  sonrre 
of  much  error  concerning  the  natnre  of  the  grammatic  jjroce.sses 
prevailing  in  this  language  is  the  fact  that  these  word-sentences  are 
mistaken  for  words,  for  a  word-sentence  mi^l,  it  is  repeated,  nndergo 
certain  historical  cluinges  of  form  and  fimction  before  it  Incomes  a 
word — a  i)art  of  speet  li.  Conventional  usage  alone  is  the  arbiter 
in  this,  as  it, is  in  all  things  linguistic. 

To  exemplify  lliis  the  following  concise  analysis  of  the  stems  of  a 
verb  and  a  noun  is  given.  'I'iie  verb-stem  selected  is  -/ir"s-)Y",  from 
the  word-sentence  ni-/id"s'-yP",  "  lie  hears,  untlerstands  (by  hear- 
ing)," and  the  noun  stem  is  -th'ctc-hra-hoc,  from  iit-hiic-hnt'-kioc, 
"  a  chair,  seat."  These  two  steins  have  been  chosen  solely  for  the 
reason  that  their  constitutive  elements  have  not  yet  undergone  that 
degree  of  effacement  which  would  render  tliein  quite  irrecognizable 
to  any  but  an  accom|)Iished  master  of  the  language. 

The  full  and  original  form  of  ut-hili:-hm'-kwc  was  ut-h'ctc-h'i- 
hra'-kw'f,  which  was  evidently  derived  from  the  word-sentence 
yi''t-hctc-h'hhnt'-khwa\  "one  (some  one)  uses  it  to  support  his  but- 
tocks," in  which  the  i)ronominal  element  is  jv7-  (which  is  the  re- 
flexive form  of  -j(i'-,  "  one  or  she  "),  meaning  "  one-his  "  or  "  she- 
her,"  the  reflexive  i)erforming  a  possessive  and  not  a  reflexive  office  ; 
the  noun-stem  is  -ht'tc-h't,  from  u-hctc'-lu-,  "buttocks,  fundament," 
and,  lastly,  the  verb -//y/vi-X'/zn',}',  "  to  support  with,"  "to  use  for 
supporting,"  or  "to  use  to  sujiport."  Tiiis  verb-stem  is  from  the 
word-sentence  rii-lu/n'i'-k/muV,  "he  uses  it  for  supporting  (it)  "  or 
"he  supports  it  with  (it),"  in  which  the  "  it"  enclosed  in  paren- 
thesis is  understood.  These  two  notional  stems,  -helc-lii  (funda- 
ment) and  -Juird-khwa'  (to  support  with,  use  to  support),  then  form 
the  compound  stem  of  the  word,  ut-h'cfc-hqni'-kioc,  "chair,  stool;  " 
but  both  stems  themselves  may  be  still  further  reduced  to  show 
the  original  ideas  v,-hich  combined  to  form  them.  The  verb-stem 
chosen  is  -kP'-syc",  from  the  simple  sentence  ru-hc"' -syU^ ,  "  he  hears 
it,"  or  simply,  "he  hears,  understands  (by  hearing)."     The  com- 

*  The  formation  niul  derivation  ofa  word  from  a  compound. 


Ui.'^' 


»«»-    »-^i  "i^i 


i 


"ilST. 


rv..i.  VI. 


Oct.  iS.jj]        lMir,V.sYVTIIi;s(s  IV   IVniAV   I.  VVfil' AMI-:,' 


3S7 


Iword-seiitciucs  may, 
111 — Motional  terms — 
scntciufs  from  wliif  li 
[■(1  only  whtii  llu'  liii- 

alL'  meanings  of  the 
s.-'-  A  prolific  source 
k'rammatic  processes 
\<v  word-sentences  are 
It  is  repeated,  undergo 
|i  before  it  becomes  a 

alone  is  the  arbiter 

)sis  of  the  stems  of  a 
ctcd  is  -///•",f-_)v'",  from 
iderstands  (by  hear- 
r () m  iit-hctc- lira' -hoc , 
chosen  solely  for  the 
I  yet  undergone  that 
1  <|in'te  irrecognizable 
Mage. 

'I'-hcr  was  iit-lutc-h'i- 
n    the  word-sentence 
t  to  support  his  but- 
;v""/-  (which  is  the  re- 
"onc-his  "  or  "slie- 
notare/lexive  office; 
iittocks,  fundament," 
t  with,"  "  to  use  for 
■erb-stem  is  from  the 
r  supporting  (it)"  or 
"  enclosed  in  paren- 
;ems,  -hNc-lie  (fimda- 
>  support),  then  form 
hoc,  "chair,  stool;" 
er  reduced  to  show 
icm.     The  verb-stem 
i-hc"'-syl'\  "  he  hears 
aring)."     The  com- 

a  compound. 


ponents  of  liiis  stem  are  -///"j-  and  -yi^  ;  •fic'^s-  is  the  steni  of  the 
ar(  haic  ii-hc"'-sc,  "  the  e  ir,"  and  -jv"  is  the  verb  "  to  enter  "  of  the 
sentence  ra'-yc",  "he  enters."      Hence,  "to  hear"  is  made  up  of 


tlu'  ideas  "  to  enter-car,"  but  belnre   these  two  notions  cou 


Id  1) 


rendered  by  "  hear"  usage  had  to  disregard  their  several  and  sepa- 
rate meanings.  Moreover,  the  stem  -//.//•</  /Jac'r' ,  meaning  as  a 
morphologic  imit,  "  to  support  with,"  "  to  use  for  siipiiorting,"  or 
"to  use  to  support,"  is  in  its  more  literal   meaning  itself  the  result 


)f  the  forgetting  of  the  elyuK 


elements  of  a  compound.      It  is 


mad 


e  up  of  the  stems  -/ici/r,  from  la'-hiqr,  "  he  puts  ( it)  upon,"  and 
the  au.\iliary  ■khwCi' ,  "  to  do,  make,"  hence,  "to  use,"  the  object 
of  the  auxiliary  being  always  "  it"  understood,  its  object  being  of 
course  indicated  by  the  context. 

'I'he  pronominal  elements  prefi.ved  to  the  stems  of  words  and 
word-sentences  perform  one  of  two  offices:  first,  they  may  lie  pre- 
fi.xed  to  noun-stems  for  the  purpose  of  indicating  gender  or  posses- 
sion ;  and,  second,  they  may  name  determinatively  the  things  of 
which  it  is  reipiired  tiial  notional  stems  be  made  names  or  predicates. 

In  Iro(iuoian  speech  all  the  developments  of  the  language  ex- 
pressed by  the  terms  word-sentence,  stem-formation,  and  inilection, 
are  based  i)rimarily  on  the  well-known  principle  of  juxtaposition 
and  a  more  or  less  intimate  fusion  of  elements,  but  the  living  and 
traditional  usage  of  the  language  has  established  the  following  mor- 
phothetic*  canons,  which  determine  the  nature  and  the  relative  posi- 
tion or  sequence  of  elements  that  may  be  combined  into  words, 
l)hrases,  and  word-sentences,  namely  : 

First,  The  simple  or  comi)ound  stem  of  a  notional  word  or  of  a 
word-sentence  may  not  be  employed  isolated ly  without  a  [)relixed 
simple  or  complex  [jcrsonal  pronoun  or  a  gender  sign  or  fiexion. 

Second.  Only  two  notional  stems  may  be  combined  in  the  same 
word-sentence,  and  they  nuist  not  be  of  the  same  part  of  si)eech. 

Third.  The  stem  of  a  verb  or  adjective  may  be  combined  with 
the  stem  of  a  noun,  and  the  stein  of  the  verb  or  adjective  must  be 
placed  after  and  never  I'cforc  the  noun-stem. 

Foiirtli.  An  adjective-stem  may  not  be  combined  with  a  verb- 
stem,  but  it  may  unite  with  the  formative  auxiliary  -tha\  to  cause  or 
make,  and  with  the  inchoative  -(. 


♦  From  morphothesi.s,  the  principle  or  law  fixing  not  only  the  sequence  but  also 
determining  tho  kind  and  number  of  elements  which  may  be  cuilwdied  in  a  word- 
sentence,  and  also  the  morjihology  thus  established. 


rr 


V 


388 


TIIK   AMKKICAN   ANTlIllorOLOOIST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


7v'/?//.  A  qualificative  or  other  word  or  element  may  not  be  inter- 
posed between  tlie  two  combined  stems  of  notional  words,  nor  be- 
tween the  simple  or  compound  notional  stem  and  its  simple  or 
complex  pronominal  prefix,  derivative  and  formative  change  being 
effected  only  by  prefixing  or  suffixing  suitable  flexions  and  forma- 
tives  to  the  forms  fixed  by  the  foregoing  canons. 

The  following  formulas,  witii  examples,  chiefly  from  the  Mohawk 
and  Onondaga  dialects,  will  show  the  application  of  the  preceding 
canons  in  the  building  of  words  and  word-sentences: 

Simple  Words. 
(I.)  Pronoun  -f  verb-stem. 

In  the  following  examples  the  pronominal  element  is  separated 
from  the  stem  by  a  hyplien. 


ka'-riks,  it  bites  (it); 
yo'-riks,  it  bites  it ; 
ye'-riks,  she  bites  (it)  ; 
ra'-riks,  he  bites  (it)  ; 

shako'-ryos,  he  kills  them ; 


ka'-ke",  it  sees  (it)  j 
yo'-ke",  it  sees  it  \ 
ye'-ke",  she  sees  (it)  ; 
shako'-ke",  he  sees  them ; 

ra'-ya'ks,  he  breaks,  cuts  it. 


The  final  "s"  in  some  of  the  examples  is  the  sign  of  customary 
action  and  not  a  part  of  the  verb-stem. 

(II.)  Pronoun  -}-  noun-stem. 

In  these  examples  the  hyphen  divides  the  pronominal  element 
from  the  notional  stem. 


or 


ka-no"'sa',  a  house ;  house; 
o-ro^'hya' ,  or 
ka-ro"'iiya',  sky,  the  sky  ; 
o-qsi"ta',  a  foot,  the  foot; 


o-ko°'sa',  or 

ka-ko'''sa' ,  a  face  or  mask  ; 


o-ron'ta',  or 


ka-ron'ta',  a  tree  or  log  ; 
o-hne'ka',  water ;  liquid. 


(III.)  Pronoun  -f-  adjective-stem. 

In  these  examples  the  hyphen  separates  the  pronominal  element 
from  the  stem. 
ka-hofl"tci,  it  is  black;  ka-no'ro"',    it    is   costly,   dear; 

scarce ;  deplorable  ; 
wa-katc'te',  it  is  durable,  lasting ;     (w)a'-se',  it  is  new ;  green  ; 
iw'-es,  it  is  long;  (w)a-ka'yon',  it  is  old,  ancient ; 

w-i'yo,  it  is  fine,  beautiful;  (y)o-ya'ne',  it  is  good;  proper. 


*1H 


OGIST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


Oct.  1S03.]        I'OIASYNTIIKSIS  IN  INDIAN   I.AMlUACiKS. 


389 


ent  may  not  be  inter- 
)tional  words,  nor  be- 
em  and  its  simple  or 
rmative  change  being 
e  flexions  and  forma- 
ins. 

efly  from  the  Mohawk 
ition  of  the  preceding 
itences : 


I  element  is  separated 

sees  (it) ; 
sees  it  i 
e  sees  (it) ; 
,  he  sees  them ; 

lie  breaks,  cuts  it. 

the  sign  of  customary 


2  pronominal  element 

or 

a  face  or  mask ; 
or 
,  a  tree  or  log  ; 

water;  liquid. 

e  pronominal  clement 

,    it    is   costly,   dear ; 
deplorable  ; 
it  is  new ;  green  ; 
on',  it  is  old,  ancient  ; 
;',  it  is  good  J  proper. 


Compound  Notional  Stems. 

(IV.)  Pronoun  +  noun-stem  +  verl)-stem. 

In  the  following  examples  the  pronominal,  nominal,  and  verbal 
elements  are  separated  (jne  from  another  by  hyphens, 
ra-rofll'-ya'ks,    he   cuts,  breaks,     ra-no"s'-C'fiti,  he    is    building    a 

the  tree  or  log  ;  house ; 

ra-hy-uskwas.  he  plucks  fruit ;  ye-the'tcr-oflnis,  she  makes  flour; 

ka-heq'na-ne"s'kwas,   it   poaches     wu-skwi'-yiVks,  it   crosses   the 

on  the  field  ;  l"-'^lg^'  5 

ye-'waliri'saks,  she  seeks  meat;     ye-no"kwa'tcra-yenteri,   she   un- 
is  looking  for  meat ;  derstands  medicine. 

(V.)  Pronoun  +  noun-stem  -f  adjective-stem. 
The  hyphen  is  used  in  tlie  following  examples  as  it  has  been  in 
those  under  preceding  formulas,  to  separate  the  elements  of  the 
compound  or  word-sentence. 

wa-hya'-ksC-n,  (it)  fruit  is  bud  ;        wa-hya-he"s'tci,  (it)  fruit  is  black ; 
ka-ne":ui'  kwast,(it)  house  is  good  ;     yo-qsa'-hni-ro",  its  foot  is  firm  ; 
yu-heq  na-kwast,  its  crop  (field)     yu-qsa'-ksCui,  its  foot  is  bad. 

is  good ; 
ka-no"s'-iyo,  (it)  house  is  large  ; 

The  pronoun  //  enclosed  by  parentheses  is  a  gender  sign  only 
or  is  understood.  Being  definitive,  it  may  often  be  rendered  by 
''the:' 

These  morphothelic  rules  establish  and  govern  the  morphology 
or  ground-plan  of  Irocpioian  words  and  word-sentences,  and  any 
violation  of  tiiese  rules  by  a  speaker  in  forming  combinations  of 
vocal  elements  necessarily  produces  a  meaningless  assemblage  (.f 
■irliculale  sounds.  For  instance,  to  combine  two  nouns,two  verbs, 
or  two  adjectives  in  the  same  compound  would  not  constitute  tiie 
one  noun,  verb,  or  adjective  a  predicate  or  (lualifier  of  the  other 
member  of  the  combination. 

In  speaking  of  what  he  is  pleased  to  call  the  origmal  structure  of 
the  American  Indian  tongues  and  of  the  numerous  novel  forms  with 
which  he  claims  they  abound,  Duponceau  says  : 

"  It  is  impossible  to  resist  the  iuipressiou  which  forces  itself  upon  us 
that  we  are  among  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  a  Nezu  World.    We  find 


wm 


390 


Till';    AMKUICAN    ANTIIUOI'UUJGIST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


tJ 


a  naa  nia.uicr  of  coiupoundi.iK  words  from  various  roots,  so  as  to  strike 
the  ...iiul  at  once  with  a  whole  mass  of  ideas  ;  a  >,cw  manner  of  express- 
ing the  cases  of  substantives,  by  iutlecting  the  verbs  which  govern  them  ; 
a  „rTa  nn.uber  (the  particular  plural)  applied  to  the  declension  of  nouns 
and  conju^^ition  of  verbs  ;  a  ;/,7c- concordance  in  tense  of  the  eonjvnctiou 
with  the  verb.  We  sec  not  only  pn.nouns,  as  in  the  Hebrew  an<l  some 
other  lanuiuiKt-s,  but  adjectives,  conjunctions,  and  adverbs  co.nbined  with 
the  principal  part  of  speech  and  producing  an  immense  variety  of  verbal 
forms."  * 

Tliis  alleged  new  manner  of  compounding  words,  the  so-called 
polvsyntlictic  sclienie,  lias  already  been  shown  to  be  erroneous  and 
unfounded  in  liict,  since  the  morpliologic  processes  of  those  Indian 
languages  which  have  been  critically  analyzed  do  not  correspond  or 
accord  with  the  theoretical  processes  distinctive  of  the  scheme,  nor 
do  the  morphologic  processes  jirevailing  in  one  tongue  accord  with 
tliose  common  to  anotlier  in  so  marked  a  degree  as  to  warrant  the 
inference  that  they  are  based  on  a  common  principle  or  ground- 
plan  differing  essentially  from  fundamental  principles  common  to 
languages  of  the  old  hemisphere.     Concerning  the  new  manner  of 
exp^ressing  the  cases  of  nouns  by  inQecting  the  verbs  which  govern 
them,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  not  true  of  ilie  Iroquoian  tongue  ; 
besides,  such  a  process  would  imply  that  there  exists  a  provision  for 
what  is  still  undeveloped  and  non-existent  in  many  of  the  Indian 
languages— a   nominal   case-ending;   the   fact  being,  in   most  in- 
stances, that  the  noun  is  in  apposition  with  an  objective  pronoun 
forming  an  integral  part  of  the  person-endings  of  the  verb;  by  this 
means  the  relation  of  the  noun  to  the  action  of  tiie  verb  is  indicated. 
In  otlier  instances  the  position  of  a  noun  in  a  word-sentence  de- 
termines its  "case;"    in  others  it  is  determined  by  the  pronoun 
with  which  it  is  in  apposition.     In  regard  to  a  ne7u  number,  the 
particular  plural,  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  it  is  both  Asiatic  and 
l':uropean,  and  to  tiiat  extent  not  a  distinctive  trait  of  the  American 
Indian  languages.     It  is  thus  evident  that  this  array  of  new  methods 
and  novel  means  is  the  product  of  misai)prehension  and  insufficient 
investigation.     Duponceau's  fundamental  error  lay  in  tlie  fact  that 
he  attempted  to  classify  all  known  Indian  tongues  under  a  hypotlieti- 
cal  system   based   chiefly   on   a  superficial   study  of  Algonquian 
morphologies,  before  he  had  made  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
morphologies  of  the  other  Indian  tongues  involved.     His  whole 

♦Transactions,  p.  xxxviii. 


tptaiM 


"JflMliaiL." 


ilST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


roots,  so  as  to  strike 
re  manner  of  cxpress- 
wliich  govern  them  ; 
declension  of  nouns 
se  of  the  conjr notion 
he  Hebrew  and  some 
Iverbs  eoinbineil  with 
ense  variety  of  verbal 

words,  the  so-called 
:o  be  erroneous  and 
sses  of  those  Indian 
o  not  correspond  or 
;  of  the  scheme,  nor 

tongue  accord  with 
.'e  as  to  warrant  the 
)rinciple  or  ground- 
inciples  common  to 

the  new  manner  of 

verbs  which  govern 
:  Iroquoian  tongue ; 
exists  a  provision  for 

many  of  the  Indian 

being,  in  most  in- 
11  objective  pronoun 

of  the  verb  ;  by  this 
tlie  verb  is  indicated. 

a  word-sentence  de- 
ned  by  the  pronoun 
)  a  new  number,  the 

is  both  Asiatic  and 
traitof  the  American 
array  of  new  methods 
nsion  and  insufficient 
ir  lay  in  tlie  fact  that 
les  under  a  hypotheti- 
itudy  of  Algonquian 
,  investigation  of  the 
nvolved.     His  whole 


Oct.  1893.]        VOLY.SYNTITKSIS  IN'  INDIAN   I.ANdf  A( JKS.  ^'^l 

conception  of  language  was  erroneous.     For  instance,  speaking  of 
Indian  speech,  he  says  : 

<'L' organisation  interieure  du  mot  est  :\  la  discraion  dc  rinventcur. 
S'il  a  des  rC-gles  a  suivre,  ce  sont  des  regies  de  goilt  et  uon  de  gramman-e. 
rresqu'  enticremcnt,  c'est  I'oreille  qui  en  decide  ;  les  changemens  et 
transpositions  de  svllabes  et  de  sons  restent  tl  sa  disposition,  comme  les 
inversions  des  motsde  la  langue  latino  sont  tl  celle  de  I'homme  qui  parle 
ou  dcrit  dans  cet  idiome."  * 

No  critical  linguistic  student  could  consistently  hold  sucli  views 
of  language  and  its  processes.  This  statement,  besides,  is  scarcely 
in  accord  with  what  he  had  previously  remarked  in  his  Report,  where 
he  says : 

"Nor  can  this  class  of  languages  be  divested,  even  in  imagination,  of 
the  admirable  order,  method  and  regularity,  which  pervade  them  ;  for  it 
is  evident  that  without  these,  such  complicated  forms  of  language  could 
not  subsist,  and  the  confusion  which  would  follow  would  render  them 
unfit  even  for  the  communication  of  the  most  simple  ideas.  A  simple 
language  may  be,  perhaps,  nnmelhodical  ;  but  one  which  is  highly  com- 
plicated, and  in  which  the  parts  of  speech  are  to  a  considerable  degree 
interwoven  with  each  other,  I  humbly  couceive,  never  can."  t 

The  former  of  these  assertions,  making  the  interior  form  of  a  word 
the  plavthing  of  the  caprice  of  every  speaker's  whim  and  fancy, 
represents  his  opinion  after  more  than  ten  years'  study  of  the  lan- 
guages, and  the  latter  after  not  more  than  three,  sliowing  tiiat  the 
longer  he  studied,  the  less  clearly  did  he  comprehend  them.     Many 
students  have  adopted  the  Hiww  polysynthctic  as  a  designation  of  the 
Indian  languages,  but,  api)arently,  without  taking  the  precaution  to 
learn  the  exact  sense  in  which  Duponceau  himself  employed  it,  or 
to  ascertain  whether  such  a  scheme  of  classification  was  warranted 
by  the  grammatic  facts  of  these  languages.     In  exi)lanalion  of  his 
use  of  it  he  says  that  the  Indian  languages  belong  to  "the  class 
which  I  have  denominated  polysynthdic  merely  for  tlie  sake  of  desig- 
nation and  without  meaning  to  affix  any  other  importance  to  the 

name."  f 

It  thus  appears  that  he  employed  the  term  without  direct  refer- 
ence to  its  etymologic  meaning  and  merely  as  a  tag  or  label  for  a 
theoretic  scheme  of  classification,  which  he  believed  epitomized  the 


»M6moire,  p.  145. 
top.  cU.,  p.  xxvii. 
top.  cit.,  p.  xxxvi. 


^ 


r 


;    I 


M 

>  1  ; 


I  1 


no2 


TIIK    AMIOTUr'AX    ANTintOl'OT.ndlST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


fundamental  princii)les  of  morpliology  underlying  tlie  stnictnrcs  of 
the  American  Indian  languages.  It  should  be  discarded,  since  its 
further  use  only  perpetuates  liis  errors. 

In  an  essay,  entitled  "  Polysynthesis  and  Incorporation  as  Char- 
acteristics of  American  Languages,"  Dr.  P.  G  Brinton  attempts 
to  show  that  F.  Miiller,  L.  Adam,  and  others  fail  to  comprehend 
what  he  himself  believes  to  be  Duponceau's  conception  of  a  "  poly- 
synthetic  construction  of  language."     He  says: 

"Ihelicve  that  for  the  scientific  study  of  language,  and  especi.illy  of 
American  languages,  it  will  be  profitable  to  restore  and  clearly  to  differ- 
entiate the  distinction  between  polysynthesis  and  incorporation,  dunly 
perceived  by  Duponceau  and  expressed  by  him  in  the  words  already 
quoted.  With  these  may  be  retained  the  neologism  of  Lieber,  /lo/o- 
phrasis,  and  the  three  defined  as  follows  : 

"Polysynthesis  is  a  method  of  word-building,  applicable  either  to  nom- 
inals  or  verbals,  which  not  only  employs  juxtaposition  with  aplueresis, 
syncope,  apocope,  etc.,  but  also  words,  forms  of  words  and  significant 
phonetic  elements  which  have  no  separate  existence  apart  from  such 
compounds.  This  latter  peculiarity  marks  it  off  altogether  from  the 
processes  of  agglutination  and  collocation. 

"Incorporation  (Einvcrlcibung)  is  a  structural  process  confined  to 
verbals,  by  which  the  nonnnal  or  prononnnal  elements  of  the  proposi- 
tion are  subordinated  to  the  verbal  elements,  either  in  form  or  position  ; 
in  the  former  case  having  no  independent  existence  in  the  language  m 
the  form  recpiired  by  the  verb,  and  in  the  latter  case  being  included 
within  the  specific  verbal  signs  of  tense  uid  mood.  In  a  fully  incorpo- 
rative  language  the  verbal  exhausts  the  syntax  of  the  grammar,  all 
other  parts  of  speech  remaining  in  isolation  and  without  structural  con- 

uection. 

"Ilolophrasis  does  not  refer  to  structural  peculiarities  of  language,  but 
to  the  psychological  impulse  which  lies  at  the  root  of  polysynthesis  and 
incorporation.  It  is  the  same  in  both  instances-the  effort  to  express 
the  whole  proposition  in  one  word.  This  in  turn  is  instigated  by  the 
stronger  stimulus  which  the  imagination  receives  from  an  idea  conveyed 
in  one  word  rather  than  in  many."     *    *    * 

"As  the  holoplirastic  method  makes  uo  provision  for  the  .syntax  of  the 
sentence  outside  of  the  expression  of  action  (/.  e.,  the  verbal  and  what  it 
embraces),  nouns  and  adjectives  are  not  declined.  The  'cases'  which 
appear  in  many  grammars  of  American  languages,  are  usually  indications 
of  space  or  direction,  or  of  possession,  and  not  case-endings  in  the  sense 
of  Aryan  grammar. 

"A  further  consequence  of  the  same  method  is  the  absence  of  true  rela- 
tive pronouns,  of  copulative  conjunctions,  and  generally  of  the  machinery 
of  dependent  clauses. ' ' 


»k. 


"  "^ibat  fi .  HI** 


odisT. 


[Vol.  VI. 


lyiiifr  tlie  stnictiircs  of 
be  discarded,  since  ilb 

ncorjjoration  as  Char- 
G  Tlrinton  attempts 
s  fixil  to  comprehend 
onccption  of  a  "poly- 
ys ; 

^uagc,  and  especially  of 
)ie  and  clearly  to  diffcr- 
id  iiicorporalion,  dimly 
II  in  tlie  words  already 
logisni  of  Ivieber,  //ina- 
pplicable cither  to  nom- 
josition  witb  aplutresis, 
)f  words  and  significant 
stence  apart  from  snch 
off  altogether  from  the 

ral  process  confined  to 
elements  of  the  proposi- 
Iher  in  form  or  position  ; 
ence  in  the  langnage  in 
ler  case  being  inclnded 
ood.  In  a  fully  incorpo- 
ax  of  the  grammar,  all 
1  without  structural  con- 

iliarities  of  language,  but 
■oot  of  polysynthesis  and 
es— the  effort  to  express 
:urn  is  instigated  by  the 
es  from  an  idea  conveyed 

siou  for  the  syntax  of  the 
c,  the  verbal  and  what  it 
ined.  The  '  cases '  which 
es,  are  usually  indications 
case-endings  in  the  sense 

is  the  absence  of  true  rela- 
euerally  of  the  machinery 


Oct.  1S93.]       roTA-SYNTlTKSIS  IX  INPTAN  I.AN'mTAOT.fl.  -03 

All  this  doubtless  has  a  certain  plausibility  so  long  as  it  is  tested 
solely  by  the  faulty  and  equivocal  works  of  the  pioneers  in  Ameri- 
can Indian  philology  ;  but,  by  the  light  of  the  facts  of  language 
which  are  gradually  being  made  available,  these  polysynthctic 
dogmas  are  being  dissipated. 

Dr.  Brinton's  definition  of  polysynthesis  is  clearly  defective  and 
incomi)letc.     There  is  an  omission  of  the  name  or  names  of  the 
elements  subject  to  "juxtaposition,"  and  also  of  the  term  co-ordi- 
nate with  "juxtaposition  "  and  expressive  of  a  process  contrary  or 
co-relative  to  that  of  "juxtaposition,"  two  very  important  omissions 
in  a  definition  designed  to  "  clearly  differentiate  the  distinction  be- 
tween polysynthesis  and  incorporation,  dimly  perceived  by  Dupon- 
ceau."    But,  as  Dr.  Brinton  was  merely  recasting  and  remoulding  the 
first  sectionof  Duponceau's  definition  of  a  polysynthetic  construction 
of  language,  the  omitted  process,  judging  from  this  fact  and  from 
other  parts  of  Dr.  Brinton's  essay,  is  that  affirmed  by  Duponceau 
to  consist  in  the  "intercalation"  or  "interweaving  together  the 
most  significant  sounds  or  syllables  of  each  simple  word  "  and  the 
various   "parts  of  speech,  particularly  by   means  of  the  verb. 
The  alle^^ed   process  of  intercalation  or  interweaving  together  of 
vocal  elements  has  already  been  shown  to  be  mere  hypothesis  and 
unfounded  in   Uie  known  facts  of  Indian   languages.     Moreover, 
Dr  Brinton  tells  us  that  agglutination  and  collocation  differ  from 
polysynthesis  in  not  using  "words,  forms  of  words  and  significant 
phonetic  elements  which  have   no  separate  existence  apart  from 
such  compounds."     If  this  statement  were  substantiated  by  facts,  it 
would  pass  unchallenged  ;  but  it  is  to  be  doubted  that  "  agglutina- 
tion and  collocation  "  do  not  employ,  in  the  polysynthetic  sense 
"words,   forms  of  words,"   which  have  no  existence  outside  of 
compound  forms.     Even  in  the  English,  which  is  agglutinative  in 
some  of  its  forms,  such  nouns  as  sooth  and  wise  are  practically 
obsolete  in  current  speech,  although  in  use  in  compound  forms; 
hence,  must  it  be  inferred  that  they  never  had  an   independent 
existence  in  the  language?    Not  at  all.     In  the  obsolescence  of 
words  and  forms  they  will  maintain  an  existence  in  certain  quaint 
or  striking  phrases  or  compounds  when  they  have  lost  their  adapta- 
bility for  current  and  new  formations. 

It  may  be  stated  that  "significant  phonetic  elements  "  form  no 
part  of  the  linguistic  material  of  Indian  languages  any  more  than 
they  do  of  that  of  the  Indo-European  languages.    Words  and  sounds 
51 


ft 


394 


THE    AMERICAN    AXTimOPOrOOTST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


in  Indian  as  in  otlier  l:insiiages  have  no  intrinsic  si^'nification  apart 
from  that  imposed  on  tliem  by  tiie  common  usage  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Tile  apparent  abbreviation  of  nouns  in  derivative  words  aid  word- 
sentences  which  has  given  rise  to  some  of  these  misleading  designa- 
tions may  be  explained  by  tlie  fact  tliat  those  who  attempted  to 
define  the  methods  of  derivation  and  combination  of  vocal  elements 
took  noun-stems  from  prepositional  and  other  phrases  or  from  word- 
sentences  wlierein  those  students  have  percliance  found  the  stem  for 
which  they  sought,  overlooking  the  fact  that  language  does  not 
make  decomposition  an  antecedent  condition  to  other  composition. 
Again,  in  some  languages  the  gender-sign  is  usually  discarded  from 
the  noun-stem  when  the  stem  is  united  with  another  to  form  a  new 

compound. 

From  Dr.  Brinton's  definition  of  incorporation— the  process  of 
intercalation  or  interweaving  together  of  Duponceau— it  follows  that 
where  no  conscious  or  artificial  mutilation  of  notional  stems  takes 
place  in  the  compound  there  is  no  subordination,  and  so  to  that 
extent  no  incorporation  ;  that  where  no  modal  or  tensal  flexions 
are  affixed  to  the  word-sentence  in  such  manner  as  to  give  the  pro- 
nominal and  nominal  elements— the  person-endings  and  the  noun- 
stems— the  appearance  of  being  infixed  or  enclosed  between  those 
elements  and  the  verb  stem,  there   is  likewise  no    incorporation. 
These  changes  are  not  made  in  the  sinii)le  tenses  of  the  Iroquoian 
indicative  mode,  showing   that   the  combination  of  the  notional 
stems  is  a  condition  antecedent  to  the  affixion  of  modal  and  tensal 
flexions  to  the  word-sentence.     Tiie  fatal  error  of  this  doctrine  of 
incorporation  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  places  flexions  and  formatives 
on  an  equality  with  notional  stems  in  the  expression  of  thought, 
making  flexions  and  formatives  an  integral  part  of  the  semasiologic 
difference  between  two  expressions  or  word-sentences  composed  of 
unlike  notional  stems,  for  it  is  not  the  flexions  but  the  notional 
stems  which,  from    the  standpoint  of  morphology,  give  to   every 
word-sentence  its  semasiologic  individuality.     So  that  testing  the 
question  by  Dr.  Brinton's  definition  of  what  constitutes  incorpora- 
tion as  he  conceives  it  was  dimly  perceived  by  Duponceau,  there  is 
in  the  ground-forms  of  Iroquoian  words  and  word-sentences  no  trace 
of  incorporation  ;  for  it  is  not  a  question  of  the  affixion  or  suffixion 
of  elements  to  a  root  or  stem,  but  merely  the  use  of  a  system  for 
that  purpose. 


mtmii       p* 


■■■■•%. 


^ 


OflTST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


Oct.  1893] 


I-OI.YHYNTIIICSIS  IN   INUIAN  I,AN(ir AdKS. 


395 


isir  si}j;nification  apart 
)n  usage  of  the  com- 

'ative  words  aid  word- 
se  misleading  designa- 
ose  who  attempted  to 
ition  of  vocal  elements 

■  phrase.s  or  from  word- 
nce  found  the  stem  for 
lat  language  does  not 
1  to  other  composition, 
usually  discarded  from 
inother  to  form  a  new 

oration — the  process  of 
onceau — it  follows  that 
)f  notional  stems  takes 
[nation,  and  so  to  that 
odal  or  tensal  flexions 
mer  as  to  give  the  pro- 
-endings  and  the  noun- 
Miclosed  between  those 
vise  no    incorporation, 
tenses  of  the  Iroquoian 
nation  of  the  notional 
on  of  modal  and  tensal 
rror  of  this  doctrine  of 
flexions  and  formatives 
expression  of  thought, 
part  of  the  semasiologic 
-sentences  composed  of 
:xions  but  the  notional 
phology,  give  to   every 
ty.     So  that  testing  the 
it  constitutes  incorpora- 
by  Duponceau,  there  is 
word-sentences  no  trace 

■  the  affix! on  or  suffixion 
the  use  of  a  system  for 


The  statement  that  the  word-sentence  exhausts  the  syntax  of  the 
language  .n  which  the  principle  of  incorporation  prevads,  that      no 

rovisions  for  the  syntax  of  the  sentence  outside  o  the  expression 
of  action  (/.  ..,  the  verbal  and  what  it  embraces)"  are  made,  ■ 
unwarranted  so  far  as  the  Iroquoian,  Siouan,  Atiiapascan,  and 
Algonciuian  languages  are  concerned.  The  employment  by  these 
languagesof  correlatives,  relative  and  coordinate  pronouns  and  coi  - 
nctio,.s,  and  prepositional  phrases  is  ample  refutation  of  such 
cm  Fa.  is  like  these  show  on  what  an  unsubstantud  basis  wa 
erected  the  l,ypothetical  polysynthetic  scheme  of  Duponceau  and 

''' uf  Brinton  affirms  that  incorporation  consists  in  subordinating 
the  nominal  and  pronominal  elements  of  the  l-P-^'-    °^^^ 
verbal  in  one  of  two  ways:    first,  by  a  mutilation  of  form,  and 
Lond,  by  position.     In  the  first  case  the  noun  or  pronoun  n.ust 
as  ume  a  Lm  which  it  does  not  have  apart  from  such  -".pounds 
ad  in  the  second  it  must  be  placed  between  the  signs  o   mode  and 
t^i   e  on  the  one  hand  and  the  verb-stem  on  the  other      In  Sanscn  t 
a     Indo-European  language,  the  person-endings  which  are  adm.t- 
:dl      .ronominal  in  origin  do  not  have  the  form  of  the  pronmu  s 
vhen  apart  from  the  compounds  to  which  they  are  affixed.     Mme- 
over,  tiey  may  be  inserted  between   the  verb  and   its  adveibial 
qualifiers  in  the  proposition.  _ 

In  section  249  of  his  Sanscrit  Grammar  Prof.  Max  MuUer  says  . 
"The  comparative  is  formed  by  tara  or  iyas ;  the  superlative  hytcnna 

better  (Pan.,  v.  3,  57) ;  pacUatita,na>n,  he  cooks  best  (1  an.,  v.  3-  5  ) 
Here   the   pronominal   elements,    the   person-terminations    and 

?he   aboriginal  American   tongues?    If  modern  instances  of  th.s 


q» 


11^ 

l-il 


! 


r 

I 


806 


THK   AMKltlCAN   ANTllUOrOLOOIST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


"incorporation"  and  the  synthetic  capacity  for  comi)oiinding 
words  be  necessary,  let  us  turn  to  the  abundantly  synthetic  structure 
of  modern  Russian,  which  exemplifies  the  important  fact  that  in 
the  Indo-European  family,  of  which  the  Russian  is  a  me.nber,  the 
tendency  has  not  been  "everywhere  and  in  all  respects  downward, 
toward  poverty  of  synthetic  forms,  throughout  the  historic  period." 
Of  the  structure  of  this  language  Prof.  W.  D.  Whitney  says: 

"  The  Russian  of  the  present  day  possesses  in  some  respects  a  capacity 
of  synthetic  (kvclopnient  hardly,  if  at  all.  excelled  by  that  of  any 
ancient  tongue.  For  example,  it  takes  the  two  independent  words  bcz 
Boira  ''  without  God,'  and  fuses  them  into  a  theme  from  which  it  draws 
a  whole  list  of  deriv.atives.  Thus,  Orst.  by  adding  an  adjective  sunix,  it 
gets  the  adjective /;f^*o-//««)',  'godless;'  a  new  suffix  appended  to  this 
makes  a  nomi,  bczbozlmik,  'a  godless  person,  an  atheist;'  the  nonn^ 
gives  birth  to  a  denominative  verb,  bczbozhnichat,  'to  be  an  atheist;' 
from  this  verb,  again,  come  a  number  of  derivatives,  giving  to  the 
verbal  idea  the  form  of  adjective,  agent,  act,  and  so  on  :  the  abstract  is 
be-bozhnichestvo,  '  the  condition  of  being  an  atheist ; '  while,  once  more, 
a  new  verb  is  made  from  this  abstract,  namely  bczbozluiichesivovat, 
literally  'to  be  in  the  condition  of  being  a  godless  person.'  A  more 
intricate  synthcti-.  form  than  this  could  not  easily  be  found  in  Greek, 
],atin,  or  Sanscrit ;  but  it  is  no  rare  or  exceptional  case  in  the  language 
from  which  we  have  extracted  it;  it  rather  represents,  by  a  striking 
instance,  the  general  character  of  Russian  word-formatiou  and  deriva- 
tion."* 

This,  Professor  Whitney  holds,  shows  the  futility  of  attempting 
to  maintain  that  there  has  been  "an  miinterrupted  and  universal 
reduction  of  the  resources  of  synthetic  exprer>sion  among  tlie  lan- 
guages of  the  Indo-European  fiimily,"  demonstrating  conclusively 
that  even   the  members  of  a  linguistic  family  differ  in  synthetic 

capacity. 

These  examples  of  the  synthetic  power  in  the  Sanscrit  and  Rus- 
sian languages  show  that  the  synthesis  of  a  large  numl)er  of  elements 
into  the  form  of  a  word  is  not  a  trait  peculiar  to  the  Indian  lan- 
guages; Duponceau  and  his  followers  maintiMn  not  only  that  this 
exuberant  synthetic  capacity  prevails  in  all  known  Indian  tongues, 
but  also  that  all  these  synthetic  forms  are  based  on  one  common 
model  distinctively  peculiar  to  these  aboriginal  languages;  but,  if 
Dr.  Brinton's  definition  of  what  constitutes  incorporation  be  ac- 
cepted, then  the  Sanscrit  and  the  Russian  may  be  confidently  said 

•  lyanguage  and  the  Study  of  Language,  p.  281. 


lUKiJST.  [Vol.  VI. 

:ity  for  compounding 
fntly  synthetic  striRtiirc 
Jiinpoitant  fact  that  in 
Iissian  is  a  int-.iil)er,  tlie 
Jail  respects  downward, 
lit  the  iiistoric  ])eri()d." 
f).  Whitney  says: 

some  respects  n  capacity 
xcelled  by  that  of  any 
independent  words  bt's 
lenie  from  wliicb  it  draws 
in^  an  adjective  sufllx,  it 
V  suffix  appended  to  this 
I,  an  allieist ;  '  the   noun 
chat,  '  to  be  an  atheist ; ' 
;rivatives,   giving  to  the 
nd  so  on  :  the  abstract  is 
lieist ; '  while,  once  more, 
1  e  1  y  bczhozh  n  ich estvo vat, 
godless  person.'     A  more 
;asily  be  found  in  Greek, 
onal  case  in  the  language 
•cpresents,  by  a   striking 
)rd-formatiou  and  deriva- 


e  futility  of  attempting 
iterrupted  and  universal 
prer^sion  among  the  lan- 
lonstrating  conclusively 
iiily  differ  in  synthetic 

n  the  Sanscrit  and  Rns- 
rge  number  of  elements 
liar  to  the  Indian  lan- 
t.'-in  not  only  that  this 
known  Indian  tongues, 
based  on  one  common 
:inal  languages;  but,  if 
J  incorporation  be  ac- 
nay  be  confidently  said 

ge,  p.  281. 


Oct.  i«.j3,]        IMtl.YSYNTHKSIS  IN  l.VDI.VX  r.AN(iI  ACKS. 


007 


to  form  their  words  and  word-sentences  on  the  theoretic  ground- 
plan  conjectured  to  be  the  pattern  of  all  the  grammatic  structures 
of  the  American  Indian  tongues. 

Can  it,  therefore,  be  asserted  tiiat  the  Sanscrit,  tiie  Russian,  and 
their  congeners  belong  to  a  family  of  languages  based  on  a  model 
common  to  that  of  the  .Vmerican  Indians?  As  there  is  no  ground- 
plan  comn.  )n  to  all  the  well-known  Indian  tongues,  such  an  assertion 
cannot  well  be  made.  They,  like  the  languages  of  the  old  hemis- 
phere, hare  traits  which  are  found  in  the  majoiity  of  languages  and 
they  also  individually  have  otliers  which  are  idionutic. 

Again,  Dr.  Brinton  says: 

"As  the  effort  to  speak  in  sentences  rather  than  in  words  entails  a  con- 
stant variation  in  these  sentence-words,  there  arises  both  an  enormous  in- 
crea.se  in  verl)al  forms  and  a  mulliplicalion  of  expressions  for  ideas  closely 
allied.  This  is  the  cause  of  the  apparently  endless  conjugations  of  numy 
such  tongues,  and  also  of  the  exuberance  of  their  vocabularies  in  words 
of  closely  similar  signification.  *  »  *  I^angunges  structurally  at  the 
bottom  of  the  scale  have  an  enormous  and  useless  excess  of  words. 
The  savage  tribes  of  the  plains  will  call  a  color  by  three  or  four  dilTerent 
words,  as  it  ajjpears  on  different  objects.  The  Kskimo  has  about  twenty 
words  for  fishing,  depending  on  the  nature  of  the  fish  pursued.  All  this 
arises  from  the  '  holophrastic '  plan  of  thought." 

But  Dr.  Brinton  does  not  show  this  by  the  convincing  method  of 
citing  unequivocal  facts  of  language.  He  evidently  overlooks  the 
impossibility  of  speaking  in  words  without  the  use  of  sentences. 
What  evidence  has  he  adduced  to  prove  that  the  structure  of  any 
one  Indian  tongue  is  the  product  of  an  "  effort  "  to  speak  in  some 
specific  manner.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  speakers  of 
Indian  languages  are  just  as  powerless  consciously  to  change  the 
habits  of  their  several  idioms  as  are  the  speakers  of  Indo-European 
and  other  tongues. 

The  statement  that  certain  Indian  tongues  call  a  color  by  three 
or  four  different  names  as  it  appears  on  different  objects  is  due  to 
erroneous  information.  The  exi)lanation  of  this  difficulty  is  tiiis: 
the  three  or  four  different  names  or  words  are  not  names  of  only 
one  color,  but  rather  of  as  mafty  colors,  or,  strictly,  as  many  shades 
of  the  same  color  as  have  received  appellations  in  the  language  in 
question.  In  the  English,  one  says  "a  gray  horse,"  but  "a  dun 
cow;"  "a  bay  horse,"  but  "a  red  apple;"  "  a  yellow  dog,"  but 
"a  hazel  eye,"  etc. 


.'5!)8 


Tin;    AMKltlCAN    ANTII  IlortMAHilrtT. 


[Vol.  VI. 


II* 


The  otiicr  remark,  stating  tliat  tlic  Kskimo  possesses  twenty  words 
for  falling,  "(le|KMi(lent  on  tlie  nature  of  the  fish  pinsned,"  is  to  he 
exphiiiK'.l  in  a  similar  nuinner,  beeaiise  it  is  ojjvioas  that  the  dijfi'ratt 
mnins  and  mrt/uhh  of  fisliing  necessarily  recpiire  diffe>ei>l  words  for 
their  desi-iuUion.  In  like  manner  the  Missionary  l!ntri<k,  who 
praedcd  Jarvis  and  Pickering,  staled  llial  the  Mngnage  of  the 
Ciitrokees,  owing  to  its  incapacity  for  generalization,  has  fourteen 
veri)s  to  denote  wasiiing  different  things,  hut  no  verb  to  denote 
washing  in  general.  An  analyzUion  of  the  fourteen  examples  given 
shows  that  they  are  not  all  verbs  denotive  of  washing  ;  some  signify 
"to  swim,"  others  "  to  soak,"  others  "  to  wet  or  sjjrinkle,"  and 
still  others  "  to  boil,"  which,  of  course,  it  would  be  folly  to  classify 
among  the  verbs  meaning  to  wash  or  lave.  Thus,  a  rational  expla- 
nation is  sui)i)lied  for  what  appeared  to  be  an  anomaly  in  language. 

In  speaking  of  the  elements  used  in  polysynthesis  and  incorpora- 
tion Dr.  Hrinton  says  {pp.  cit.): 

"As  polysynthetic  elements  we  have  the  inseparahle  possessive  pro- 
nouns which  in  many  languages  are  attaclicd  to  the  names  of  the  parts 
of  the  body  and  to  the  words  foi  near  relatives;  also  the  'generic  forma- 
tives,'  particles  which  are  prefixed,  suffixed,  or  inserted  to  indicate  to 
what  class  or  material  ot)jects  belong  ;  also  the  'numeral  terminations' 
afiixed  to  the  ordinal  numbers  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the  objects 
counted ;  the  negative,  diminutive,  and  amplificative  particles  which 
convey  certain  conceptions  of  a  general  character,  *  *  *  but  are 
generally  not  words  themselves,  having  no  independent  status  in  the 
language.  They  may  be  single  letters  or  even  merely  vowel-changes 
and  consonantal  substitutions,  but  they  have  well-defined  siguificauce." 

Again  (t>/.  cit.),  he  says  : 

"Although  in  polysynthesis  we  speak  of  prefixes,  suffixes,  and  juxta- 
position, we  are  not  to  understand  these  terms  as  the  same  as  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Aryan  or  with  the  agglutinative  languages.  In  polysyn- 
thetic tongues  they  are  not  intended  to  form  words,  but  sentences  ;  not 
to  express  an  idea,  but  a  proposition.  This  is  a  fundamental,  logical  dis- 
tinction between  the  two  classes  of  languages." 

In  Irocpioian  and  Algoncpiian  speech  the  names  of  the  parts  of 
the  body  are  not  inseparably  connected  with  "  possessive  pro- 
nouns," nor  do  they  enif)loy  "  numeral  terminations'!  to  indicate 
the  "nature  of  the  objects  counted."  Dr.  Brinton  endeavors  to 
make  a  distinction  between  "prefixes,  suffixes,  and  jn.Ktaposition," 
when  used  in  reference  to  Aryan  and  agglutinative  languages  and 
when  they  refer  to  flexions  in  Indian  languages,  on  the  erroneous 


M^p'ip^^^^''*"Mtr. 


'ol.dcilsT. 


[Vol.  VI. 


Oct.  |S93."|        I'OI.VSYNTFIKSIH  l\  IN'HI.W   I, ANdl' A»ii:.s. 


:\w 


111)  possesses  twenty  words 
he  fish  |)iiisiu-(l,"  is  to  1)0 
|obvio;is  that  \.\\^  iiiprcnt 
|<Hiiii'  (iiffi-ri-i't  wouls  for 
Missionary   Ihitrick,   who 
li;it  the  laiigiiayt:   of  the 
fieralization,  has  fourlieii 
but  no  vcrlj  to  denote 
le  lonrtccn  examples  given 
1)1  wasiiing;  some  signify 
to  wet  or  sprinkle,"  and 
would  1)0  folly  to  classify 
Thus,  a  rational  expla- 
an  anomaly  in  language, 
ysyiithesis  and  incorpora- 

iiiscjjarahlc  possessive  pro- 

to  the  names  of  the  parts 

s;  also  tlie  'generic  fornia- 

,  or  inserted  to  indicate  to 

he  'miiiieral  terminations' 

the  nature  of  the  ot)jects 

iplificative  particles  which 

laracter,     *     »    *    but  are 

independent  status  in  the 

;ven  merely  vowel-changes 

well-defiued  significance. " 


refixes,  suffixes,  and  juxta- 

is  as  the  same  as  in  connec- 

ve  langnages.     In  polysyn- 

words,  hut  sentences  ;  not 

a  fundamental,  logical  dis- 

le  names  of  the  parts  of 
1  with  "  possessive  pro- 
rminations'.'  to  indicate 
•r.  Brinton  endeavors  to 
ixes,  and  juxtaposition," 
Intinative  languages  and 
uages,  on  tlie  erroneous 


ground  that  in  polysynthetic  tonj/ucs  their  fmiction  is  "  unt  to 
form  words,  hut  sentences;  not  to  express  an  idea,  but  a  i)r(iposi- 
tion."  A  more  misleading  statement  or  a  more  lamentable  confu- 
sion of  terms  regarding  the  function  and  use  of  llcxioiis  in  language 
it  would  be  difficult  to  equal.  There  is  nothing  in  the  use  and 
historii  al  development  of  (lexional  and  formative  elements  in  tliofn: 
Indian  langnages  which  have  been  thoroughly  studied  by  the  scien- 
tific methods  of  modern  linguistics  to  warrant  the  assum|ition  that 
formatives  and  flexions  are  em|)loyed  solely  for  the  purpose  of  form- 
ing sentences,  and  that  they  do  not  compose  essential  parts  of 
words.  Such  a  contention  can  rest  solely  on  the  tremendous  as- 
sumption that  every  Indian  necessarily  knows  the  etymology — the 
component  i)arts  or  constitutive  elements — of  each  word  he  employs. 
The  science  of  language  stands  o])posed  to  such  fanciful  assmup- 
tions.  Moreover,  this  is  another  proof,  if  such  be  needed,  that  the 
doctrine  of  i)olysyntbesis  rests  on  a  fimdamental  misconception  of 
the  phenomena  of  linguistic  growth  and  development,  for  its 
methods  and  means  of  lingm'stic  growth  do  not  conform  to  those 
established  by  the  science  of  language.  In  a  science  so  well  con- 
stituted as  is  that  of  comparative  linguistics,  groundless  assumptions 
should  be  avoided.  In  a  science  of  this  character,  research  to  be 
fruitful  of  substantial  and  trustworthy  results  must  converge  toward 
a  self-sustaining  and  continuous  development.  The  findings  of 
to-day  must  enlarge  without  overturning  the  conceptions  of  yes- 
terday, and  thenceforward  there  must  be  "  system,  but  no  systems  ;  " 
facts  and  reasons  must  take  the  place  of  authorities.  Hut,  in  the 
fruitful  field  of  American  Indian  linguistics,  there  appears  to  be  no 
common  method  or  system  of  study,  and  for  this  reason  every 
important  question  pertaining  to  these  tongues  is  in  dispute,  with 
no  recognized  criterion  by  which  tlie  accuracy  and  trustworthiness 
of  any  result,  system,  or  conclusion  may  be  tested.  This  is  the 
soil  in  which  controversy  flourishes.  It  is  too  much  the  custom  to 
quote  authors  rather  than  to  give  facts,  although  the  authors 
quoted  may  or  may  not  have  known  a  reason  for  what  they  wrote. 

After  citing  from  T^acombe's  Cree  Grammar  an  analysis  of  a 
nominal  compound-stem,  Dr.  Hrinton  remarks,  in  referring  to  the 
constitutive  elements  thus  found  : 

"Not  a  single  one  of  the  above  elements  can  be  employed  as  an  inde- 
pendent word.  They  are  all  only  the  raw  material  to  weave  into  and 
make  up  words." 


h 


too 


Till",    AMi;itI('AN    ANTMItol'OI.fHJiST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


And,  from  Katlicr  Monloya's  Ti-u>ro  dc  /<;  f.cn;^iit  GuiViini,  lie 
a(l()|)ls  tliL-  following,'  rrmarkahlc  statement : 

"The  fduiulatioii  of  this  laiiKiinKi'  consists  of  jjarticleH,  which  frc- 
(luciitly  have  no  mciininjj  if  tnken  alone  ;  Imt  when  conij)ountU<l  with  the 
whole  or  parts  of  others  (for  they  cnt  them  ii])  a  ^real  tleal  in  composi- 
tion) tliey  form  sij^nificant  expressions  ;  for  this  reason  there  are  no  inde- 
peiident  verhs  in  the  lan^naj^e,  as  they  are  built  up  of  thcBC  particles 
with  nouns  and  jirononns." 

Then  Dr.  Uriuton  says: 

"This  analysis,  which  Montoya  carries  much  further,  remimls  us  for- 
cihly  of  the  extraordinarily  acute  analysis  of  the  Crcc  ( Alj^onkin )  hy  Mr. 
James  Ilowse.  lIiuloul)tedly  the  two  toujjues  have  been  built  up  from 
significant  particles  (not  words)  in  the  same  manner."  * 

'I'liis  species  of  "  extraordinarily  acute  analysis"  amniiiits  virtu- 
ally to  this,  tiiat  it  finds  in  certain  languages  "significant  expres- 
sions," formed  by  compounding  together  certain  meaningless  par- 
ticles with  fragments  of  other  equally  meaningless  particles,  and 
this,  it  is  claimed,  is  tlic  method  of  word-forming  jiervading  the 
Indian  languages.  This  is  romance  and  not  comparative  grammar. 
Words  can  be  modified  by  other  words  only.  Relations  of  ideas 
must  necessarily  be  indicated  by  words  which,  by  the  tropic  action 
of  nictajihor,  will  eventually  be  formatives  and  flexions. 

Abandoning  his  first  but  truer  impressions  of  tliese  Indian  tongues, 
expressed  ten  or  twelve  years  earlier  in  his  report,  Duponceau,  in 
his  Memoire,  adopts  the  fiillacious  doctrine  since  called  holophrasis. 
Here  (p.  249)  he  says  : 

"The  grammatic  forms  of  these  languages  are  in  perfect  liarmony 
with  the  method  in  which  they  form  their  words ;  the  same  system 
rules  everywhere  ;  and  everywhere  one  sees  the  ahseuce  of  the  spirit  of 
analysis,  [l^c  had  believed  at  one  time  that  analysis  should  precede 
synthesis  ;  but  more  profound  researches  and  deeper  rejections  have  con- 
vinced I's  that  the  synthetic  forms  that  characleri/e  these  idioms  result 
from  the  inability  of  those  who  formed  them  to  analyze  the  concrete 
ideas  which  presented  themselves  to  their  imagination,  and  they  have 
sought  to  express  them  en  masse,  as  they  have  perceived  them." 

This,  in  short,  is  the  foundation  of  Dr.  Lieber's  doctrine  of  holo- 
phrasis and  adopted  by  Dr.  Brinton.  It  is  due  wholly  to  a  con- 
founding of  the  analytic  mode  of  expre.       n  with  mental  analysis. 

♦p.  83. 


ItsT,         [Vol.  vr. 

\r»i,'iii  GuiViJui,  he 

|iartiples,   whlih  frc- 

iiii]ii)iiiiik(l  with  the 

\\-,i\.  (leal  in  I'oiiipdsi- 

oii  tluTf  an-  IK)  inde- 

liil)  of  these  i)arlick'8 


Irtlier,  ri'iniiids  us  for- 
I'c  (Alj^oiikiii)  t)y  Mr. 
e  l)feii  built  up  from 

LT."» 

siH  "  aiiioiiiits  virtu- 
sign  ifnaiU  exprt's- 
lin  meaningless  par- 
glcss  particles,  and 
niing  pervading  the 
(jmparativc  grammar. 
Relations  of  ideas 
by  the  tropic  action 
ll  flexions. 

these  Indian  tongues, 
eport,  Diiponceau,  in 
ce  called  holophrasis. 

•e  in  perfect  harmony 
rils  ;  the  same  system 
ihseuce  of  the  spirit  of 
<talysis  should  precede 
er  reflections  have  coii- 
izc  these  idioms  result 
analyze  the  concrete 
illation,  and  they  have 
rceived  them." 

er's  doctrine  of  holo- 
hie  wholly  to  a  con- 
ith  mental  analysis. 


Oct.  1893 1     I'or.vKYNTirRsrH  in*  indi.w  r.ANorAoFH. 


toi 


In  argiiini(  from  n  theoretic  NtaMd|H)iiit  against  tlic  doctrine  of  a 
primitive  oligo-  or  monosyllabic  stage  of  dcv(lo|»ment  in  the  Iiulo- 
Mnropcan  family  of  lan^^nages,  the  late  M,  Kenan  follows  the  same 
line  of  aignmcnt  that  Dr.  I, ieber  adopted  in  support  of  holophiasis. 
M.  Renan  says  (^Origin  of  I,angiiag(',  seventh  chapter): 

"Another  characteristic  which  the  progress  of  comparative  philology 
authorizes  us  to  atlritnitc  to  primitive  language,  as  in  general  to  crea- 
tions of  the  iirimilive  liuin.in  mind,  v:.  the  Hyiitlicsi?-  ami  exiilu-raiieeof  its 
forms.  It  is  too  often  imagined  llial  simplii  ily,  which,  relative  to  our 
analytic  processes  is  anterior  to  complexity,  is  also  anterior  in  the  order 
of  time.  This  is  a  vestige  of  the  oM  usages  of  the  scholastics  nii<l  of  the 
artificial  method  which  logicians  employ  in  psychology.  *  *  *  I'ar 
from  this  heginning  I>y  analysis,  the  (irst  act  which  it  (the  mind)  proposes 
is,  c  11  the  contrary,  complex,  oliscurc,  synthetic ;  all  is  heaped  together 
and  indistinct.  »  »  *  The  idea  is  expressed  at  first  with  its  entire 
<rt»;7^X'''' "'"determinatives  and  in  a  perfect  unity.     •    *    • 

"  The  history  of  dilferetit  systems  of  conjug.ition  gives  place  for  analo- 
gous considerations.  In  our  modern  languages  the  subject,  the  verb,  and 
the  several  relations  of  time,  mode,  and  voice,  arc  expressed  by  isolated 
and  independent  words.  In  aiuifiit  languages,  on  the  contrary,  these 
ideas  are  most  often  comi)riscd  in  one  single  word  ;  ainabor  contains  the 
idea  of  lo  love,  the  indication  of  the  first  person,  that  of  the  future,  anil 
that  of  the  passive.     »    »    * 

"Agglutination  must  have  been  the  dominant  process  of  the  language 
of  primitive  men,  as  synthesis,  or  rather  syncretism,  was  the  characteristic 
of  their  thought." 

The  criticism  of  these  views  by  tlie  distingiiislied  linguist,  Prof. 
W.  1).  Whitney,  is  cogent  and  effective  ;  and  since  the  argument  of 
Professor  Whitney  embodies  the  writer's  views  on  the  subject  of 
holophrasis  as  defined  by  Dr.  Lieber,  it  will  be  given  here  entire. 
Professor  Whitney  says: 

"The  synthetic  fonns  which  we  are  asked  to  regard  as  original  have 
uot  the  character  of  something  indistinctly  heaped  together  ;  they  con- 
tain the  clear  and  express  designation  of  the  radical  idea  and  of  its  im- 
portant relations  ;  they  represent  by  a  linguistic  synthesis  the  results  of 
a  mental  analysis.  The  idea  is,  indeed,  conceived  in  unity,  involving  all 
its  aspects  and  relations ;  but  these  cannot  be  separately  expressed  until 
the  mind  has  separated  them,  until  practice  in  the  use  of  language  has 
enabled  it  to  distinguish  them,  and  to  mark  each  by  an  appropriate  sign. 
In  a.:  or,  the  {I<atin)  word  cited  as  an  example  of  synthesis,  are  con- 
tained precisely  the  same  designations  as  in  the  equivalent  English 
analytic  phrase,  "I  shall  be  loved;"  auta  expresses  "loving;"  bo 
unites  future-sign  and  ending  designating  the  first  person  ;  and  the  r  is 

52 


99 


402 


THE   AMF.RTCAN    AXTITKOFOT-OntaT. 


[Vol.  VI 


the  sign  of  passivity.  Who  can  possibly  maintain  that  a  system  of  such 
forms,  gathered  about  a  root,  exhibits  the  results  of  experience,  of  <  e- 
veloped  acut-ness,  iu  thought  and  speech,  any  less  clearly  thaii  the 
analytic  forms  ol  our  English  conjugation  ?  The  two  are  onl-  different 
methods  of  expressing  the  same  'array  of  determinatives.'  Ihe  first 
synthetic  mental  act,  on  the  contrary,  is  truly  represented  by  the  bare 
root :  There  all  is,  iudeeu,  confused  and  indiscrete.  .  .  M.  Renan,  in 
short,  has  made  a  very  strange  confusion  of  analytic  style  of  expression 
with  mental  analysis:  All  expression  of  relations,  whether  by  means  that 
we  call  synthetic  or  analytic,  is  the  result  and  evidence  of  analysis. 

This  reasoning  thoroughly  dissipates  the  position  taken  by  Dr. 
Lieber  in  support  of  the  doctrine  of  holophrasis.  Although  written 
in  view  of  the  languages  of  the  Indo-European  family,  it  applies 
with  equal  force  to  the  languages  of  the  American  aborigines,  the 
word-sentences  of  which  are  the  same  in  kind  with  those  of  the 

former.  .  ,    ,  ,     i- 

The  comparison  of  linguistic  forms  to  ascertain  probable  lin- 
guistic aiifinity  can  be  used  with  extreme  caution  and  to  a  limited 
extent  only.  The  information  and  data  for  such  a  study  must  be 
accurate  and  trustworthy  in  an  unexceptional  degree  ;  even  then 
its  results  must,  in  a  measure,  be  necessarily  of  doubtful  value,  since 
the  scientific  melliod  of  the  science  of  language  demands  that  no 
human  nature  different  from  the  one  we  know  be  made  a  factor  in 
the  problem,  and  the  human  organism,  under  like  conditions,  acts 
with  more  or  less  uniformity. 

Linguistic  classification  by  means  of  morphologies— grammatic 
and  syntactic  accordances  alone,  like  that  by  the  genetic  method— 
the  historically  traceable  identity  of  elements— is,  of  course,  incom- 
petent and  of  no  force  to  affirm  or  to  deny  identity  or  possible  cor- 
respondences among  the  ultimate  elements  of  some  or  all  linguistic 
groups-accordances  antedating  all,  even  partial,  grammatic  devel- 
opment, because  its  right  to.be  rests  on  the  development  of  the 
parts  of  speech  and  their  flexions—the  derivative  and  the  syntactic 
processes ;  beyond  these,  the  tokens  of  the  grammatic  period,  it 
cannot  take  us.  This  is  of  course  true,  because  in  every  language 
the  earliest  records  of  men  can  carry  us  back  only  to  a  point  far 
distant  from  the  genesis  of  its  peculiar  structure  and  still  more  dis- 
tant from  the  beginnings  of  human  speech. 


•  Op,  cit.,  pp.  285,  286. 


rOLYSYNTIIKSIS  IN  INDIAN  LANGUAUKS. 


403 


L0GI3T. 


[Vol.  VI 


itn  that  a  system  of  such 
ilts  of  experience,  of  de- 
ny less  clearly  than  the 
iie  two  are  onl-  lUffereut 
tenuiualives.'  The  first 
represeulstl  by  the  bare 
lete.  .  .  M.  Renaii,  in 
alytic  style  of  expression 
IS,  whether  by  means  that 
jviileuce  of  analysis."  * 

'.  position  taken  by  Dr. 
■asis.  Although  written 
)pean  family,  it  applies 
merican  aborigines,  the 
kind  with  those  of  the 

ascertain  probable  lin- 
aution  and  to  a  limited 
or  such  a  study  must  be 
jnal  degree  ;  even  then 
'  of  doubtful  value,  since 
nguage  demands  that  no 
now  be  made  a  factor  in 
Jer  like  conditions,  acts 

.orphologies — grammatic 
by  the  genetic  method — 
Its — is,  of  course,  incom- 
■  identity  or  possible  cor- 
I  of  some  or  all  linguistic 
[)artial,  grammatic  devel- 
the  development  of  the 
ivative  and  the  syntactic 
he  grammatic  period,  it 
jecause  in  every  language 
back  only  to  a  point  far 
ucture  and  still  more  dis- 
li. 


Oct.  1893] 

„iS„t,  in  order  .0  ascerta.n  »•■«""•■'  *°f";;,\„j  A,,u,.a«:an 
what  I  liad  round  in  th«  languaRcs  of  the  S.'uan  a""  ' 

familic.     In  consequence  of  .h«  -"T'^^^l^rl..  re- 

.„  U.e  cone,u.on  U,a.  ^^Z^^^^  "»^"-"J.  '" 

snectinL'  the  structure  of  Indian  iant,ua^c 

Z^L  S-,oua,,  and  A;-.— ;S:-;r:,r'at  ..rt:,,. 

r;t;:r.;;:;T,>?;i„';:;;et-eof,,.co„c,n.on. 

on  Lage  . . ,  of  Duponceau's  Memo.re  ,t  ,s  sa,d . 

..Chacu,,  fai.  „u  moid. a  „.,n.™,  ,«'il  -ompaS".  ^e  =,g»es,  =• 

versation.     ^^y  a  t.me  ha-^^^^^^       e^uld  be  seen,  and  yet  his 
lage  on  a  dark  mght,  when  no     es  ^.^^^^  ^^^^.^^^ 

words  have  been  understood  by  ^^^^.f^f^^^  ^^  ,„,,form  to  fixed 
could  "  make  a  word  in  his  own  way ,      he  haU 
laws,  else  his  speech  could  not  be  understood. 

On  page  1 1 8  the  same  v, riter  observes  : 

..Outilsvoulu.parexemple.donnerunnom^ 

:r^r:?nti:;^?^="X..^^^ 

lesfeuiUesressemblent  a  telle  chose.' 


I2i  ' 


r 


404  THE   AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST.  [Vol.  VI. 

Many  other  tree  names  could  be  given,  in  most  of  which  the  name 
fsZZa  by  the  simple  juxtaposition  of  the  elements.     1  he  al  eg^d 
expression  of  case  by  the  inflection  of  verbs  governing  nouns  doe 
no    "xi  t   n  Siouan  Lguages,  unless  it  applies  to  the  .nstrumental 
orm  of  the  verb  (as  .an  in,  he  was  wounded  w,th  or  by  an     ro. 
,nan,  arrow;  i-,  instrumental  prefix  to  the  -vb ,  .,     o    v     nd 
whirh  sometimes  has  r   locative  force,  as  in  dhte  dhan  m,  lit  xvas 
ded       t^e  side.     On  the  contrary,  in  the  Biloxi,  the  nomina- 
ive  and  objective  signs  are  suffixed  to  nouns  and  pronouns   mstead 
of   >e  t  attTcbed  to  the  governing  verb.     There  are  no  instances 
o   the  .<  particular  plural"  in  the  languages  which  I  have  recorded 
:ithrugh  tie  dual  often  appears  in  the  verb  and  some  other  par  s  o 
s    ech      In  Dakota,  Dhegiha,  etc..  there  is  a  first  person  dial    n 
e  V    b ;  in  the  Tutu  and  cognate  Athapascan  languages  of  Oregon, 
veb  hasadual  in  all  three  persons,  and  so  has  the  pronoun 
D  ponceau  speaks  of  "a  new  concordance  of  tense  oi  the  conjunc 
^on  with  the  verb."     This  does  not  appear  in  Siouan  languages. 

A  I  Cree  compound  is  given  as  an  example  of  polysynthes.s 
in  no"n;  and  this  word  is  declared  by  so  high  an  authority  .s  D 
D  G  B  inton  to  be  a  fair  example.  We  should  not  be  content 
wi'ti?a  si  gle  example,  especially  when  that  word  (the  name  for 
loss)  seems  to  be  a  modern  word,  introduced  after  the  arrival  of 
r  missionaries.  Just  here  let  me  quote  Dr.  Brinton.  On  page  .x 
of  his  article  on  Polysynthesis  and  Incorporation  he  says : 

«  While  the  genius  of  American  languages  is  such  that  they  permit 
.„d  m^m  of  them  favor  the  formation  of  long  compounds  which  express 
r  Zl  of  the  sentence  in  one  word,  this  is  by  no  means  necessary 
M^fof  the  examp  of  words  of  ten,  twenty  or  more  syllables  are  no 
g^:I  nlli^elrds.  but  novelties  manufactured  by  the  missionaries. 

I  know  by  experience  how  difficult  it  is  for  a  missionary  to  con- 
ve    to  the  minds  of  his  hearers  certain  religious  ideas.     Again  aiid 
..!^in  did  1  try  when  missionary  to  the  Ponka  Indians  to  find  the 
;?o  er  Indian  word  for  kin,do,n,  in  order  to  make  even  an  approx- 
Vate  translation  of  the  petition,  "  Tliy  kingdom  come."      1  he  Ciee 
Trd   o   cross  (if  it  be,^s  I  suspect,  a  modern  word)    s  as  poor  an 
lustration  of  what  the  author  contemplated  as  is  the  Mexican  name 
or  ."/  given  by  Dr.  Whitney  on  page  348  of  his  work  entitled 
''Language  and  the  Study  of  Langunge,"  as  there  is  no  species  of 
goat  indigenous  to  the  Western  hemisphere.     Any  one  who  has 
Uved  among  Indians  knows  the  worthlessness  of  adducing  modem 


[Vol.  VI. 

Ihich  the  name 
The  alleged 
Ing  nouns  docs 
le  instrumental 
Ir  by  an  arrow: 
|«,   to  wfiiind), 
j/ian  iiii,  lie  was 
<i,  the  nomina- 
jnouns,  instead 
e  no  instances 
have  recorded, 
e  other  parts  of 
person  d  :al  in 
ages  of  Oregon, 
s  the  pronoun, 
of  the  conjunc- 
an  languages, 
of  ])olysyn thesis 
authority  as  Dr. 
not  be  content 
I  (the  name  for 
;er  the  arrival  of 
t»n.     On  page  21 
e  says : 

that  they  permit 
nils  which  express 
means  necessary. 
;  syllables  are  not 
:he  missionaries." 

issionary  to  con- 
gas. Again  and 
ians  to  find  the 
even  an  approx- 
tne."  The  Cree 
d)  is  as  poor  an 
e  Mexican  name 
s  work  entitled 
is  no  species  of 
y  one  who  has 
iducing  modern 


''/" 


Oct.  1893.]       POr.VSYXTirKSIS  I\  indiax  laxguaoks. 


40.5 


names  (/.  e.,  names  of  objects  introduced  among  the  Indians  since 
the  arrival  of  the  white  race  on  this  continent)  for  the  purpose  of 
illustrating  the  structure  of  an  Indian  language.  As  far  as  I  can 
judge  from  such  illustrations  of  polysyntliesis  in  nouns,  no  such  pro- 
cess occurs  in  the  Siouan  languages,  nor  can  I  recall  any  instance 
of  it  in  the  Athapascan  languages  of  Oregon. 

Dr.  Brinton  refers  to  "generic  formatives,"  by  which,  I  suppose, 
he  means  classifiers.  These  classifiers  are  found  in  the  Athapascan 
and  Siouan  languages,  and  they  perform  several  functions :  some- 
times they  indicate  to  what  classes  objects  belong  (the  sitting,  stand- 
ing, reclining,  etc.,  of  the  Athapascan  and  Siouan;  the  earthy, 
mushy,  watery,  stony,  etc.,  of  other  languages);  sometimes  they 
distinguish  between  the  subject  and  the  object  of  an  action,  etc. 
Numeral  terminations,  indicating  the  nature  of  the  objects  counted, 
are  unknown  in  the  Siouan  languages;  but  in  the  Athapascan  lan- 
guages of  Oregon  there  are  two  series  of  numerals,  the  human  and 
the  non-human. 

We  are  told  that  polysynthesis  is  a  characteristic  which  distin- 
guishes American  Indian  languages  from  those  of  the  old  world.  Is 
there  nothing  of  the  nature  of  so-called  polysynthesis  in  the  Aryan 
languages?  In  Greek,  thittu^aiiuuv  is  explained  by  6  mui  Saiituvai 
iistTfii ;  int)^at/)iic'ilc<"i  by  <»  roii  KuKoti  ^eitixuiputv  ;  KaHnHaiiiMv  by  'o 
KUKov  SainiiMii  'iyutv ;  hOsot;  by  '«  rijv  Oio'v  'ei'  iauToj  e^uiv  (Kiihner, 
Greek  Gr.,  New  York,  1864,  p.  296).  The  Sanscrit  was  especially 
distinguished  by  its  power  of  forming  compounds  of  any  length, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  of  the  language  lies  in  the  finding 
out  the  exact  relation  of  the  different  parts.  Thus,  a  Hindu  could 
speak  of  a  man  as  being  "  tiger-king-handsword-killed  "  (a  very 
moderate  compound).  This  would  mean  "  killed  by  a  sword  in 
the  hand  of  a  king  who  was  like  a  tiger."* 

On  pages  16  and  17  of  the  article  on  polysynthesis  and  incorpora- 
tion Dr.  Brinton  says : 

"As  the  holophrastic  method  makes  no  provisions  for  the  syntax  of  the 
sentence  outside  the  expression  of  action  («".  e.,  the  verbal  and  what  it 
embraces),  nouns  and  adjectives  are  not  declined.  The  'cases'  which 
appear  in  many  grammars  of  American  languages  are  usually  indications 
of  space  or  direction  or  of  possession  and  not  case-endings  in  the  sense  of 
Aryan  grammar  " 

•Peile,  Philology,  N.  Y..  1877,  pp.  77,  78. 


406 


THE    AMERICAN     VNTIIKOPOLOGIST. 


[Vol.  VI. 


m 


What  are  case-endings  in  the  sense  of  Aryan  grammar?  Killnier 
informs  us  tliat  "all  the  relations  whicli  the  Greek  denotes  by  the 
genitive,  dative,  and  accusative  were  originally  considered  relations 
of  spaced  *  Tiie  relations  of  time  and  causality  also  were  regarded 
as  relations  oi  space.  Whitney  remarks  that  out  of  the  seven  cases 
"three  of  them  distinctly  indicated  local  relations:  the  ablative 
denoted  the  relation  expressed  hy/roni;  the  locative  that  expressed 
by  in;  the  instrumental  that  expressed  by  with  or  /y."  f  To  these 
Peile  adds  the  dative,  denoting  the  relation  expressed  by  io  or 
io7iHinis.X  Can  any  one  explain  away  these  words  of  Kiihner, 
Whitney,  and  Peile? 

The  learned  author  of "  Polysynthesis  and  Incorporation"  in- 
forms us  that  "a  further  consequence  of  the  same  method  "  (/.  e., 
his  method  of  polysynthesis)  "  is  the  absence  of  true  relative  ])ro- 
nouns,  of  copulative  conjunctions,  and  generally  of  the  machinery 
of  dependent  clauses."  In  Siouan  languages  there  are  copulative 
conjunctions.  That  there  are  words  which  perform  the  functions  of 
relative  pronouns  may  be  seen  from  the  following  sentences: 

Mazhan  dhan  ankikandhai      te     andhia  tangatan   ebdhegan — I 

Laud         the       we  desire  for         the       we  fail        we  shaU  I  think 

ourselves        (which) 

think  that  we  shall  fail  to  obtain  the  land  which  we  desire  for  our- 
selves. 

Nuzhinga    dhii      dhinke         e  azhi     ha.     Panka       azhi 

Boy  gave  it       he  who      that  one       another       .  Ponka       another 


gave  it 
to  you 


shange     tan 

horse  the 

standing 


ihan 

his 
mother 


tan 

the 
standing 


adhin 

has 


aka 

he  who 
(subject) 


gdhizai 

took 
(aforesaid)        his  own 


shangetazhinga — The  youth  who  gave  it  to  you  is  not  the  one  (who 

colt 

now  has  the  stray  colt).     He  who  has  taken  it  is  the  Ponka  who 
has  the  colt's  mother. 

Unless  one  has  before  him  one  or  more  series  of  sentences,  such 
as  occur  in  myths  or  epistles,  he  is  hardly  in  the  position  to  sjjcak 
with  authority,  at  least  so  far  as  dependent  clauses  are  concerned. § 

*Op.  cit.,  p.  373. 

fOp.  cit.,  pp.  271,  272. 

X  Op.  cit.,  pp.  102-106. 

gFor  examples  of  dependent  clauses  in  the  Siouan  languages  see  my  Madison 
address,  "The  Biloxi  Indians  of  Louisiana,"  p.  16,  and  "  Coutributions  to  North  Ameri- 
can Kthnology,"  vol.  6,  pp.  582,  585,  et  passim. 


B 


V4^ 


BML  iEJ,>>JlJJWi-«!"  I  ■— •ai 


Xi 


[Vol.  VI. 

mar  ?  Kiilnier 
denotes  by  tlie 
idered  relations 
I  were  regarded 
the  seven  cases 
5 :  the  ablative 
.'  that  expressed 
'."t  To  these 
•essed  by  to  or 
ds  of  Kijhner, 

rporation  "  in- 
nethod  "  (/.  c, 
je  relative  ])ro- 
the  machinery 
are  copulative 
;he  functions  of 
ntences : 
1   ebdhegan — I 

I  think 

desire  for  our- 
Panka       azhi 

Ponka       another 


e 

t  one 
esaid) 


gdhizai 

took 
his  own 


•t  the  one  (who 

he  Ponka  who 

sentences,  such 
sition  to  speak 
re  concerned. § 


oc.  ,8,3.]     ™,vsv>-TnK«.  .N  ,Nn,AX  ,,a™i>a.k».  407 

On  page  .6  Dr.  Prison  say,  tl,a,  "  U>e  ..lOo..  ^  -f '.f,;,^'::, 
„„„„  iL5„aral,l,  connected  or,  a.  east,  "'f*;;  'j^^  ;,',,„. 
,,„...  anrl  ^" '!« -=  -f^^J  ■.    ;,;;    'sio,*:  ;:;U«.     in 

randl  ntnan,  near  *e  '^:^X.^r^  ,.  ••  My 
the  first  person  would  have  the  vowel  /. 


^„  rmr"— In  Tome  VI,  No.  lo,  1893,  of 

.;,r,:reraT,:L2-n.a:.c.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

J    r     r   FllU   describing  the  custom  of  measuring  the  neck,      ine 
Scaliger,  E^l'^'.'^^'"'^'  f   „„.  ^^^^^^  .'Soci^te  d' Anthropologic  de 

.Aiez  une  eguillee  de  fil  blanc  -^^  ^^^J^^^.fvL  en  ferez 
cou  de  la  raie,  puis  vous  doublerez  ""f  "^'.^^.drez  ladite 
tenir  les  d.ux  bouts  .  la  ^^^ ^^^ ^,^1,^,  elle 
mesu. .  pour  fa.re  passer  sa  tfite,  si  la  ^^^^  P^  ^    ^^     ,.elle  est 

estcorrompue;  si  elle  ne  1-^^,  ^"^  I'f'JjXrJi/^^^^ 

.ii<.  '  •      'Secrets  merveilleux  de  la  tnagie  naturelie  ei  cau         ' 
pucelle.        Secrets  merv  ^  ^^^  ^^^      ,^^^^y  ^f 

FeHt  Albert,  etc.,  i743.  21  P-     Among  ^"  >    according  to  the 

young  men  is  determined  solemnly  in  this  manner,  ^^^^^^    S  „ 

^       .  1     f  MM    Hnnoteau  and  Letourneau,     La  Kaoyiie. 

excellent  work  of  MM.  Honoteau  aim  ^    ^    ^    Hewitt. 


5  see  my  Madison 
ns  to  North  Ameri- 


.  *V 


H^ 


>.     f 


lf?ite°V"S!^^ySi^!,ii'jtg^''''y:!-jli 


